Injuries

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recently received a gag gift of protective headgear after she suffered a concussion and blood clot near her brain after a fall. While Clinton can now make light of the injuries, a blood clot can be a serious health risk that can lead to death. Dr. James L. Frazier, III, a neurosurgeon at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, talks about the dangers. What causes a blood clot to form in the brain? A blood clot or thrombus can form in the arteries that supply blood to the brain.

Anne Arundel County firefighters will go door to door Saturday to install smoke alarms and batteries in the area of Crofton where a woman died of injuries suffered in a house fire this week. Starting at 9 a.m., firefighters will go to the Coventry III community and help residents test their smoke alarms, change the batteries and, in homes with no smoke alarm, install one, said Division Chief Keith Swindle. The move was prompted by Tuesday's fatal fire where firefighters said it appeared the home had no working smoke alarms.

A woman shot on May 10 succumbed to her injuries late last week as detectives continue to look for a shooting suspect. On Monday, Baltimore police said Yolonda Johnson, 24, who lived in the Cherry Hill neighborhood, was pronounced dead Friday afternoon at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where she had been hospitalized since the shooting. Police responding to a shooting on her block of 600 Cherry Crest Road at 9:44 p.m. on May 10 had found Johnson suffering from gunshot wounds to her head and buttocks, police said.

A 52-year-old woman died a day after she was rescued from a burning home in Crofton, Anne Arundel County fire officials said Thursday. Patricia Hart died at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Wednesday from injuries sustained in a fire Tuesday afternoon at her home in the 1800 block of Foxdale Court, fire officials said. Firefighters reported smoke from the second floor of a two-story townhome and found Hart in a second floor bathroom. She was taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center and later transferred to Bayview.

A school police officer at Pikesville High School was assaulted after responding to a fight in the gym this morning, Baltimore County police said. The fight broke out between two students shortly before 9:40 a.m., said Cpl. Cathy Batton, a police spokeswoman. No injuries were reported. Charges are pending against both students, Batton said. alisonk@baltsun.com twitter.com/aliknez

Fractures, head trauma, burns and other serious injuries among child abuse victims is on the rise, despite what data from child protective service agencies show, according to new research by Yale School of Medicine. Serious injuries from child abuse increased nearly 5 percent in the last 12 years, the study found. Child protective service agencies show a 55 percent drop in physical abuses cases from 1997 to 2009. Yale researchers said it raises questions on the accuracy in the way abuse cases are reported to child protective service agencies.

With Zach Britton essentially out for the start of the season, the Orioles' rotation picture is becoming a little clearer. We will know even more after Wednesday, when Tommy Hunter (lower back) makes his spring debut in a major-league game. If Hunter comes out of that fine, you can probably pencil in Hunter, Wei-Yin Chen, Jason Hammel and Jake Arrieta as four members of the ration - in some order. (My guess is Arrieta, Chen, Hammel, Hunter). That leaves the fifth spot, with Brian Matusz seemingly the leader in the clubhouse based on the results he has gotten so far this spring (one earned run in 13 innings, though he did allow seven hits on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies in five innings)

The Sun's preview on UMBC will be published Wednesday, but here's a sampling of my interview with coach Don Zimmerman. Injuries have taken a toll on the Retrievers, who will play the 2012 season without Joseph Impallaria. The junior midfielder who boasted the team's best face-off percentage last year (50.5 percent on 50-of-99 face-offs) tore the rotator cuffs on both shoulders. Several starters have been sidelined from practice by ailments. Senior defenseman Aaron Verardi and junior midfielder Scott Hopmann tweaked their hamstrings and have yet to practice.

Crews from the Baltimore County Fire Department responded to a reported apartment fire at 2913 Andorra Court in Parkville on March 20 at 3:55 p.m. First arriving units reported two balconies on the third floor on fire. Crews entered the structure to extinguish the fire. The fire was contained to the third floor. Primary and secondary searches for occupants were negative. The fire was contained at 4:10 p.m., according to county fire officials. No injuries were reported.  

The Baltimore Running Festival is still a few days away, but Dr. John Senatore has been seeing injured patients for weeks. The veteran marathoner and chief of podiatry at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore said people have already overtrained and come to see him with strained muscles, stress fractures and other injuries.  He tells people if it hurts to run then skip the race. But he expects people will run away. Senatore will be on hand at Saturday's race as a part of a team of MedStar doctors treating injured runners at the festival, which includes a marathon, half-marathon and 5k. "The marathon is a very unforgiving race," he said.

Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen leaves Baltimore on Tuesday for the club's minor league complex in Sarasota, Fla., but how long he'll be there is unknown. “I just want to go down there and prepare early and rehab early so I can get everything [done] down there,” Chen said through interpreter Tim Lin. “And just hope everything will be fine moving forward.” Chen suffered a Grade 2 strain of his right oblique in the fifth inning of his last start, May 12 in Minnesota. He is eligible to come off the disabled list on May 28, but that certainly won't happen.

A large group of teenagers were involved in a fight near the Inner Harbor in Baltimore on Monday afternoon, with several of the teens taken into custody, police said. One police officer was injured responding to the brawl when she fell after chasing one of the teenagers, scraping her legs and knees on the ground, Baltimore Police spokesman Detective Vernon Davis said. Witnesses said dozens of teens were involved in the fight, which started about 3:15 p.m. on the plaza in front of the Gallery on Pratt Street.

A woman shot on May 10 succumbed to her injuries late last week as detectives continue to look for a shooting suspect. On Monday, Baltimore police said Yolonda Johnson, 24, who lived in the Cherry Hill neighborhood, was pronounced dead Friday afternoon at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where she had been hospitalized since the shooting. Police responding to a shooting on her block of 600 Cherry Crest Road at 9:44 p.m. on May 10 had found Johnson suffering from gunshot wounds to her head and buttocks, police said.

A school police officer at Pikesville High School was assaulted after responding to a fight in the gym this morning, Baltimore County police said. The fight broke out between two students shortly before 9:40 a.m., said Cpl. Cathy Batton, a police spokeswoman. No injuries were reported. Charges are pending against both students, Batton said. alisonk@baltsun.com twitter.com/aliknez

A man in Carroll County was checking his mailbox Wednesday afternoon when he discovered a pipe bomb, the Office of the State Fire Marshal said. The man was not injured. The mailbox was described as "rural," in the 3800 block of McMullen Road in Taneytown, the fire marshal said. The home's owner, James A. Sandel, found the bomb about 4:15 p.m. and called 911. The bomb was disposed of, and McMullen Road was closed for about five hours. Anyone with information about who placed the bomb in the mailbox is asked to contact the Office of the State Fire Marshal at 410-859-7152.

Senior defenseman Parker Bratton is fully expected to make his customary start when No. 4 Stevenson welcomes No. 13 Lynchburg to Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills for Wednesday night's NCAA tournament quarterfinal. Whether the Baltimore native and McDonogh graduate plays the entire 60 minutes is a different matter. Bratton, who is tied for fourth on the team in caused turnovers with 17 and ranks seventh in ground balls with 47, has been bothered by a turned ankle suffered about two weeks ago. Coach Paul Cantabene said he is not too worried about Bratton, who has missed two games this season.

The offense could take the field on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals without their second starter in as many weeks as right guard Marshal Yanda (bruised ribs/thigh) could join wide receiver Anquan Boldin (knee surgery) in the sideline. While every coach would prefer to have his full complement of players, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said those injuries aren't a distraction for the coaches and players. “We're not really wired to think that way,” Cameron said during his weekly media briefing Thursday.

Salisbury's path to a possible 10th Division III championship could be blocked not only by an opponent, but also perhaps injuries. Senior attackmen Matt Cannone and Tony Mendes are battling leg injuries. Cannone suffered what coach Jim Berkman described as a leg strain suffered in the first quarter of the No. 1 Sea Gulls' 22-5 rout of then-No. 2 Roanoke on Saturday. And Mendes played sparingly in that contest because of an injured hamstring. But the offense barely missed a beat.

The Orioles played one of their better all-around games of the young season Sunday, using three homers and strong pitching to shut out the Minnesota Twins, 6-0, while capturing their ninth series victory in 12 opportunities. And yet the Orioles fly out of Minnesota for an extended homestand with the potential of losing their most consistent starting pitcher - Taiwanese lefty Wei-Yin Chen - for a few weeks. “I don't even want to think about it,” said Orioles first baseman Chris Davis.

Brian Roberts' continuing injury saga will take on another chapter today when the Orioles second baseman visits a hamstring specialist in Dallas to determine why he is not responding as quickly as he had hoped after rupturing a tendon behind his right knee April 4. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Tuesday that Roberts has spoken on the phone with Dr. Daniel Cooper - who operated in November to remove scar tissue from the hamstring of Tampa Bay...