Brain injuries are the most dangerous type of injury. Injuries to the brain are the most likely to result in death or permanent disability. Brain injury is the leading cause of death and disability globally. The three most common causes of traumatic brain injuries are:
Accidents involving a motor vehicle, bicycle, or vehicle-pedestrian (more than 50%) These injuries involve people of all ages.
Falls (about 25%) These injuries are most common with the elderly and the very young. Also, alcohol and drug use are the most common contributing factors with falls.
Violence (nearly 20%) Gunshot wounds only make up about 10% of TBIs but about nine out of ten of those people die. Alcohol and drug use are the most common contributing factors in falls. Gunshot wounds account for a small proportion of TBIs (10%), but a high percentage of related fatalities (44%). Nine out of ten people who incur TBI from a firearm die. Domestic abuse (including the shaken baby syndrome) is included in this number.
Sports injuries (close to 3%) are common causes of TBI.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health problem in the United States. Each year, traumatic brain injuries contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability. Recent data shows that, on average, approximately 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury annually. Here are some interesting statistics concerning TBI:
TBI occurs twice as often in men as in women.
Populations at a higher risk include the following:
Individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 years
Individuals age 75 and older.
Half of all traumatic brain injuries involve alcohol use, either by the victim or the person causing the injury.
Children age five and younger are also at a higher-than-average risk.
The greatest risk occurs from mid afternoon to early evening, and during weekends and the summer months.
Children are especially at risk after school.
Nearly half of all children’s injuries occur in roads, about a third occur at home and the next likely place is in recreation areas.
If you or a loved one have suffered a serious brain injury, contact an experienced Houston brain injury lawyer to help you.
A coma, or loss of consciousness for a period of time, is typically the first stage of a TBI. While in a coma the patient looks asleep with their eyes closed, but often shows no reaction when spoken to, touched, or pinched. Some patients may seem to respond with a reflexive movement, such as a hand squeeze, when an arm or leg is touched. A coma can be short or can last for hours, days, weeks, months, and even years. The rule of thunmb is that the longer a person is unconscious, the more severe the injury, and the greater the probability of permanent neurological damage. A concussion is different – it lasts for a much shorter (seconds to minutes) and the prognosis for recovery usually is good.
Post-traumatic Amnesia Symptoms
The second stage, post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) begins when the patient has begun to respond in some way with purposeful movement or attempts to communicate. These purposeful movements may include gesturing, lifting a limb, blinking eyes or mouthing words. While there is hope with this increased awareness, there also is much confusion. This stage is marked with what is called cognitive impairment (i.e., problems with perception, thinking, remembering, and concentration). The most common symptoms include:
Repeating the same question
Answering the same question repeatedly, but each time with different responses
Not identifying people or remembering names
Difficulty performing simple tasks, such as counting to 10 or reciting the alphabet
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is brain damage that results from head trauma. While any brain injury can be serious, minor brain injuries usually do not have lasting effects. However, more severe brain injuries often do have overwhelming, life-changes consequences, including coma and death. Some questions that a brain injury patient should ask his or her doctor are:
• What type of head injury might have occurred?
• Is the brain injury is mild, moderate, severe or even considered to be life threatening?
• How will the type and severity of the brain injury be determined?
• What does the diagnosis of TBI involve?
• What types of diagnostic tests and imaging tests will be performed?
• Will a neurological exam be performed and what is involved?
• What is the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and what does the GCS score indicate?
• How is the brain affected by a TBI?
• What areas of the brain are affected ?
Head injury symptoms depend on the severity of the brain damage and which area of the brain was affected by the injury. Common symptoms include headache, vision changes, dizziness and loss of balance, vision changes, nausea and memory loss. If you or a loved one suffer from a brain injury, contact an experienced Chicago brain injury lawyer to help you with the legal process.
The definition of a Traumatic brain injury is damage to the brain as the result of an injury. Traumatic brain injury usually results from a violent blow or jolt to the head that causes the brain to collide with the inside of the skull. An object penetrating the skull, such as a bullet or shattered piece of skull, also can cause traumatic brain injury. Mild traumatic brain injury may cause temporary dysfunction of brain cells. More serious traumatic brain injury can result in bruising, torn tissues, bleeding and other physical damage to the brain that can result in long-term complications or death.
Here are Some Traumatic Brain Injury Statistics in the U.S
One million Americans are treated and released from hospital emergency departments as a result of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
230,000 people are hospitalized and survive
80,000 people are estimated to be discharged from the hospital with some TBI-related disability
50,000 people die
If you or a loved one has experienced a traumatic brain injury contact a Tucson Brain injury lawyer at Wattel & York.
