Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
As a paralegal for a Sacramento personal injury attorney, we have assisted numerous clients who have suffered from a brain injury. Keep in mind that if you are ever wrongfully injured, you may have a personal injury claim.
Facts about Traumatic Brain Injury
What is a traumatic brain injury?
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that
disrupts the function of the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in a TBI. The severity of such an
injury may range from “mild,” i.e., a brief change in mental status or consciousness to “severe,” i.e., an
extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury. ATBI can result in short or long-term
problems with independent function.
How many people have TBI?
Of the 1.4 million who sustain a TBI each year in the United States:
50,000 die;
235,000 are hospitalized; and
1.1 million are treated and released from an emergency department.
The number of people with TBI who are not seen in an emergency department or who
receive no care is unknown.
What causes TBI?
The leading causes of TBI are:
Falls (28%);
Motor vehicle-traffic crashes (20%);
Struck by/against (19%); and
Assaults (11%).
Blasts are a leading cause of TBI for active duty military personnel in war zones.
Who is at highest risk for TBI?
Males are about 1.5 times as likely as females to sustain a TBI.
The two age groups at highest risk for TBI are 0 to 4 year olds and 15 to 19 year olds.
Certain military duties (e.g., paratrooper) increase the risk of sustaining a TBI.
African Americans have the highest death rate from TBI.
What are the costs of TBI?
Direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity of TBI totaled an estimated $56.3 billion in
the United States in 1995.
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 TBI.
According to one study, about 40% of those hospitalized with a TBI had at least one unmet need for
services one year after their injury. The most frequent unmet needs were:
Improving memory and problem solving;
Managing stress and emotional upsets;
Controlling one’s temper; and
Improving one’s job skills.
TBI can cause a wide range of functional changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, and/or
emotions. It can also cause epilepsy and increase the risk for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease,
Parkinson’s disease, and other brain disorders that become more prevalent with age.
Here at the offices of Moseley Collins we believe that you have the right to an experienced Attorney who will fight for the money you deserve.