Traumatic Brain Injuries Caused by Personal Injury Accidents
Each year, millions of people suffer traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in the United States. TBI is a contributing factor in 30 percent of the injury deaths each year. A personal injury accident can change a person’s life forever in a matter of a few seconds because a TBI can result in permanent disabilities. For the accident victim and his or her family, a person’s negligence in causing an accident can have devastating consequences.
What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury causes a disruption in the brain’s normal functions due to a strike to the head or a penetrating brain injury. When the head strikes an object, the brain moves around within the skull striking the skull. The brain tissue is damaged when it strikes the skull. With a penetrating brain injury, an object penetrates the skull causing damage to the brain at the point of entry. While most traumatic brain injuries are mild, even a mild TBI can result in long-term damage.
A traumatic brain injury can result in short-term and long-term changes in a person’s thinking, language, emotions, and sensations. Therefore, a TBI can affect a person’s memory, reasoning, communication skills, focus, sight, balance, hearing, and ability to understand. A TBI can also cause depression, personality changes, and aggression. The physical symptoms of a TBI can be debilitating — dizziness, headaches, seizures, sleeping problems, vomiting, and paralysis.
What Causes Traumatic Brain Injuries?
The majority of traumatic brain injuries are caused by personal injury accidents. Of the known causes for TBIs, the top two causes are common personal injury accidents — falls and motor vehicle accidents. According to the CDC, falls accounted for roughly 41 percent of the traumatic brain injuries over a four-year period. During that same time, 14 percent of TBIs were the result of motor vehicle accidents.
The CDC reports that men are three times more likely to die from a TBI than women and rates of death from TBI were highest for people over the age of 65 years. Even with non-fatal TBIs, men and people over the age of 65 had the highest rates of emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
Are There Ways To Prevent Traumatic Brain Injury?
You cannot control what others do; however, you can take precautions to help reduce the risk of a traumatic brain injury. For example, when riding in a vehicle, always wear your seat belt; secure children in a safety seat or booster seat; and don’t drive under the influence of drugs/alcohol or while drowsy or fatigued. If you ride a motorcycle or bicycle, always wear a helmet. In addition, wear a helmet when engaged in the following activities can reduce the risk for a TBI:
- Water sports
- Horseback riding
- Skating and skateboarding
- Playing baseball or during batting practice
- Playing contact sports, such as boxing, football, and baseball
- Riding all-terrain vehicles or scooters
You can make your home safer to prevent falls by adding handrails to all steps, removing area rugs, and keeping items on the floor or in pathways. Install non-skid appliqués in the bathtub and use a rug at all entrances to prevent tracking water through the house during a rainstorm.
Hire A Fresno Brain Injury Attorney For Help
If you or a family member is injured in an accident and suffers a TBI, we can help. Our Fresno brain injury attorneys represent clients in Fresno, CA and throughout the surrounding Central California Valley area.
Contact the attorneys of Torem & Associates by calling (888) 500-5000. You may also chat with a representative online or use our convenient online contact form to schedule a free consultation.
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