We believe: Children’s head Injuries are no accident!

Justice For Children Foundation, Inc.

The Heads in Helmets Program.

In today’s world everyone wears helmets.

  • Baseball players
  • Bicyclist
  • Boxers
  • Bull Riders
  • Football players
  • Hockey Players
  • Karate Participants
  • Race Car Drivers
  • Roller Skaters
  • Snow Boarders
  • Snow Skiers
  • Skate Boarders

The lists of activities and sports with helmets go on and on.

Thinking back, in my childhood unless you were on a motor cycle you wouldn’t be caught dead (pun intended) wearing a helmet. I recall building wooden ramps to use to jump over a car with my bicycle like “Evil Knievel”. No helmets were worn back then.

Today the value of helmets is well known. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) 85% of bike-related injuries and 75% of fatalities are preventable if riders wear a helmet.

As an attorney since 1984; I have seen too many preventable brain injuries in children. The Traumatic brain Injuries (TBI) include closed head injuries, open head injuries and skull fractures.

This is a photo of a wall in our law office, with pictures of some of the children that we have had the honor of representing and helping after suffering a Traumatic Brain Injury.

So today, where are helmets missing? Answer: in cars.

Why are there no helmets on children in child safety seats?

Countless children are injured in car wrecks even though they are in child safety seats.

Many times it is the failed seat backs. After a rear-end impact, the front driver or passenger’s seat fails.

Then the back of the adult’s head strikes the small child in the forehead, often crushing in their skull.

No studies seem to exist on children in child safety seats.

Another common occurrence is that in a side impact collision, the child’s head strikes the side window or car frame injuring their head or skull.

A brain injury can even occur with just a minor impact or even no loss of consciousness.

The brain has a jello like consistency and it sloshes around inside the skull.

The skull is hard and it is not smooth inside, it has bony ridges that can injure the brain.

Even a “whiplash” often causes a coup contrecoup brain injury. This is an injury that occurs both at the site of trauma, and the opposite side of the brain. A coup injury will present a contusion at the site of impact. A contracoup injury, on the other hand, will present a contusion on the opposite site of impact. A brain that undergoes a particularly violent and sudden impact can experience BOTH a coup and contracoup injury simultaneously.

Sadly, an injury to the brain can be microscopic and too small to show up on most diagnostic testing like X-Rays, MRIs or CT scans.

Even mild brain injuries can cause serious, long-lasting problems for a child. Injury to different area of brain affects different functions and deficits.

With a child who has not yet fully developed (around age 20) the deficits may not show up until years later when certain executive functions are needed. Often this occurs around middle school age.

A helmet can lessen and even prevent these injuries!

We believe: Children’s head Injuries are no accident!

And that All Children’s injuries are preventable!!!

JFCF was born!

Having seen too many TBI in children, we decided to do something about it.

In 1990s …Kelly my wife, Elaine my sister and I formed: The Justice For Children Foundation.

We ran an ad and then started buying and giving away helmets.

Since the 1990s we have put helmets on kids at No Costs to the family = Free.

We do this to promote safety and to save lives.

It is a great cause, and lots of fun!