Brain Injury Is the Last Thing on Your Mind until It is the Only Thing On Your Mind
The magnitude of traumatic brain injury in the United States clearly shows that traumatic brain injury is a national health epidemic. Brain injury affects individuals of all ages and socio-economic groups. The American Academy of Brain Injury Attorneys believes that this health crisis demands the full resources of the federal government and of state governments to address injury prevention, brain injury education and brain injury rehabilitation.
How many people have Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)?
Of the 1.4 million individuals who sustain a TBI each year in the United States
- 50,000 will die
- 235,000 are hospitalized
- 1.1 million are treated and released from an emergency department
These statistics vastly underestimate the extent of traumatic brain injury since they do not include individuals who sustain a traumatic brain injury but are never seen in emergency rooms and who may seek initial treatment days, weeks or even months later.
What causes traumatic brain injury (TBI)?
The leading causes of TBI are
- Falls (28%)
- Motor Vehicle-traffic crashes (20%)
- Struck by or against an object (19%)
- Assaults (11%)
Who is at the highest risk for traumatic brain injury (TBI)?
- Males are about twice as likely as females to sustain a traumatic brain injury
- The two age groups with the highest risk for TBI are 0 to 4 year olds and 15 to 19 year olds
- In young adults, aged 15 to 19, the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries are motor vehicle accidents.
- African Americans have the highest death rate from TBI
What are the costs of TBI?
In 1995, it was reported that the direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity totaled an estimated $56.3 billion in the United States.
What are the long-term consequences of TBI?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that at least 5.3 million Americans currently have a long term or lifelong need for help to perform activities of daily living as a result of a traumatic brain injury.
Negligence and traumatic brain injury:
In many instances, traumatic brain injury is caused by the negligence of others in auto accidents, bus accidents, and truck and train accidents. Falls caused by negligent property owners also are a leading cause of brain damage.
Prevention is the best cure for a brain injury
The brain injury lawyers who are members of the American Academy of Brain Injury believe that the best cure for a brain injury is prevention.
There are many ways that the risk of a traumatic brain injury can be reduced. Here are just some:
- Wear a seat belt every time you are in a motor vehicle.
- Buckle your child into a seat restraint or booster seat.
- Wear a helmet and make sure your child wears a helmet when riding a bicycle, motorcycle, skiing, snowmobiling, ice skating, in line skating or skate boarding.
- Helmets are also important on the baseball and football fields.
- Tripping hazards should be removed from floors including throw rugs, and non slip surfaces need to be installed in bathtubs and on shower floors.
- Grab bars on the sides of bath tubs and showers also help to reduce falls as does handrails on both sides of stairways.
- Window guards on windows and the installation of safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs also prevent needless traumatic brain injury to our children.
- In playgrounds, brain injuries can be significantly reduced by installing shock absorbing safety material.
Brain Injury Victims Need Proper Legal Assistance
When a brain injury occurs, it is necessary to seek the assistance of a qualified attorney who understands the significant and permanent consequences that can take place after this invisible injury.
If you or a loved one is a victim of the silent epidemic of traumatic brain injury, you may be entitled to legal compensation for your injuries.