March 2019 is National Brain Injury Awareness Month: the #ChangeYourMind Public Awareness Campaign
This month, the Brain Injury Association of America (BIA), along with state BIA groups, safety advocates, and those of us dedicated to helping victims of traumatic brain injuries, are working together to promote the BIA’s #ChangeYourMind campaign.
The goals of this year’s brain injury public awareness campaign include: (1) providing a platform for changing common misconceptions about the injury; (2) educating the public on the incidence of brain injury and the needs of individuals who are injured and their families; and (3) offering tools and information for anyone to advocate for access to care after brain injury.
Disturbing Facts about Traumatic Brain Injuries
One of the issues facing severe brain injury victims and their families is the social stigma the victims must face in the aftermath of a serious accident and resulting brain trauma. It is likely that you, or someone you know, has either suffered a TBI or is related to someone who is a TBI victim.
Consider the following facts from the BIA regarding severe or permanent brain injuries:
- Every 9 seconds, someone in the United States sustains a brain injury. That’s around 7 people a MINUTE.
- Each year, we know that over 3,500,000 people (children and adults) will suffer an injury to their brain. However, this number may be low: researchers admit that we do not know the exact number of brain injuries suffered in this country.
- Accidents involving FALLS are the cause of almost HALF of traumatic brain injuries (over 40%).
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are the result of trauma to the brain caused by an external force of some kind. Researchers admit they have no idea how many TBI victims there are in this country.
- It is known that 1 out of 60 people in the United States lives with a TBI-related disability.
- Every day, 137 people die in the United States from a TBI-related injury. (That is approximately 6 people every hour.)
- Motor vehicle accidents make up another significant percentage of incidents causing traumatic brain injuries (14.3%) while the victim being struck by (or striking against) an object during an accident is the result of another 15.5% of serious or fatal TBIs.
Accidents Can Cause Two Types of TBIs: Open and Closed
Brainline explains that there is more than one kind of traumatic brain injury. TBIs can be classified as either (1) open or (2) closed.
Open TBI
In an open TBI, there is an open injury to the victim’s head. There will be a lot of blood. The skull may be cracked. Objects may pierce the skull.
It is vital that the victim receive immediate medical attention, and it may well involve emergency surgery on the brain to try and save the victim’s life. The result may be permanent damage to the brain’s ability to function. Loss of motor function can result from open TBIs, as can sudden, permanent, and heart wrenching changes to the victim’s memory and personality.
Closed TBI
In a closed TBI, there is no blood. There is no clear injury to the head. However, inside the skull the brain may have suffered extreme harm.
In a closed TBI, the brain may have been jarred or crushed against the bone of the skull. The force of the impact may even result in the brain bouncing around inside the skull itself. This is called a “coup-contracoup” brain injury, because the brain may suffer not one, but two traumatic injuries from the impact of a single blow to the head.
A common form of closed TBIs is the concussion. Here, the head suffers a severe impact and inside, there is a tearing in the brain. This is called “shearing” and the result is a diffuse axonal injury. This involves damage to nerves inside the brain and interferes with the brain’s ability to communicate via the nervous system.
Falls and Traumatic Brain Injuries
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls and accidents involving slipping (“slip and falls”) or tripping (“trip and falls”) must be the focus of our efforts to reduce traumatic brain injuries in this country.
The CDC considers accidents where the victim falls and suffers head trauma as the leading cause of TBI. According to the CDC, falls account for 47% of all TBI-related ED visits, hospitalizations, and deaths in the United States.
Children (ages 0 to 14 years)
Children suffer the most serious or fatal traumatic brain injuries due to falls. According to the CDC, over half of TBI-related hospitalizations and deaths among children 0 to 14 years are caused by falls.
Elders (65 years or older)
Senior citizens are another group at great danger of dying from an accident involving slipping or tripping and suffering head trauma in the resulting fall. The CDC warns that “nearly 4 in 5 (79%)” of TBI-related hospitalizations and deaths in adults 65 years of age or older are the result of falls.
For more on falls and TBIs, read:
- Nursing Home Falls: Claims for Serious or Fatal Fall Injuries to Nursing Home Residents
- Construction Fall Accidents in Indiana or Illinois: Great Danger of Fatal Injury in a Fall on the Job
Motor Vehicle Accidents and Traumatic Brain Injuries
The CDC also warns of the danger of serious or deadly head trauma resulting from a motor vehicle accident. Across all the age groups, the CDC shows that traffic collisions (motor vehicle accidents) were the 3rd leading cause of TBI-related hospitalizations and deaths in this country.
For more on motor vehicle accidents and brain injuries, read:
- Deadly Motorcycle Accidents: No Mandatory Helmet Laws for Indiana and Illinois
- Third Year in a Row: Record Breaking Number of Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities
Seeking Justice for Accident Victims Suffering Traumatic Brain Injuries
Representing accident victims and their families often means that damages must be sought for traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) suffered by the victims as well as for the consequences of the TBI injury.
All kinds of accidents can result in a severe or fatal brain injury. From a fall from a scaffold on a construction site, to a motorcycle crash, to a student playing hockey, soccer, or football, the sad truth is that any serious accident may result in a severe and permanent, sometimes deadly, injury to the brain.
TBI victims and their families must understand that there are laws available to them providing support and recompense in situations where accidents caused by the neglect or intentional conduct of one or more parties has caused the harm.
In our next post, we will discuss more about TBIs and how victims and their families may find compassionate care and advocacy for their situation. Please be careful out there!
