Statistics Demonstrate Serious Nature of Traumatic Brain Injuries

presented by: Gary Massey
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) affect approximately 1.7 million people per year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These injuries range from mild “bumps on the head” to severe and even fatal brain damage and head injuries. In order to help people better understand the nature of traumatic brain injuries and be better prepared to deal with them if they happen, the CDC offers the following statistics about these serious and often life-changing injuries.
Of the estimated 1.7 million TBIs suffered each year, 1.365 million, or 80%, of the injured are treated by a hospital emergency department and sent home without staying in the hospital. Another 275,000 injured people are hospitalized after a traumatic brain injury, and these injuries prove fatal in about 52,000 cases each year. The CDC can only estimate the true number of traumatic brain injuries that occur each year, because there is no way to track the number of people who suffer brain injuries but who never seek medical care.
Although 75% of traumatic brain injuries are mild injuries like concussions, severe TBIs are involved in nearly one-third, or 31%, of all injury-related deaths in the United States each year. Sometimes, the brain injury is the primary cause of death, and sometimes it is merely one of several injuries that all together claim an injured person’s life.
TBI is most common in toddlers and in elderly people over age 65. Males in all age groups are more likely to suffer traumatic brain injuries than females, but a TBI can happen to a person of any age and gender.
Traumatic brain injuries can cause serious, even life-long disabilities. If you or someone you love has suffered a TBI, please don’t hesitate to contact the experienced Chattanooga brain injury attorneys at Massey & Associates, P.C. For a free consultation, call us today at (423) 697-4529.