Each March for more than 30 years, the Brain Injury Association of America conducts a public awareness campaign that shines a light on the severity of brain injuries that occur throughout the country each year — and how they affect the lives of the injured and their families.
Brain Injury Awareness Month focuses on providing the public with educational materials that spotlight brain injuries as more than an event or an outcome of an accident, but a misdiagnosed, misunderstood, and under-funded neurological disease.
At Binder & Associates, our Encino, California brain injury attorneys understand just how devastating these injuries can be. We are proud to support brain injury awareness efforts by providing educational resources for our clients and the general public to learn more about these life-changing injuries.
How Often Do Brain Injuries Occur Throughout the United States Each Year?
Someone in the U.S. sustains a brain injury every nine seconds.
What Is the Difference Between Acquired Brain Injuries & Traumatic Brain Injuries?
Acquired Brain Injuries are brain injuries that are not caused by birth trauma, heredity, degeneration, or congenital origins.
More than 3.5 million children and adults sustain acquired brain injuries each year in the U.S.
These injuries are acquired through unforeseen causes that include, but are not limited to:
- Electric Shock
- Infectious Diseases
- Lightning Strikes
- Near Drownings
- Oxygen Deprivation
- Strokes
- Seizure Disorders
- Substance Abuse or Overdose
- Toxic Exposure
- Tumors
Traumatic Brain Injuries are a type of Acquired Brain Injury caused by an external force that jolts or directly hits the head.
Emergency departments and trauma centers treat approximately 2.2 million traumatic brain injury patients each year — and nearly 280,000 of those patients are hospitalized because of their injuries.
Roughly 5.3 million Americans live with a TBI-related disability — totaling one in every 60 people in the country.
The most common causes of traumatic brain injuries include:
- Falls: 48%
- Struck by or against an object: 17%
- Motor vehicle accidents: 13%
- Assaults: 8%
- Unknown/Other: 14%
Unfortunately, nearly 50,000 people die from traumatic brain injuries each year — accounting for 137 deaths each day in the United States.
Brain Injuries Also Affect Families, Communities, and the Economy
When someone sustains a brain injury, whether acquired or through trauma, they have a long road to recovery, which requires more than experienced medical care and rehabilitation, but support from family members and the community.
When someone’s life is changed by a brain injury, their support system is affected by their physical, emotional, and behavioral changes too.
Those resources can include:
- Survivors, including family members and friends
- Healthcare providers
- Insurance companies
- Educators
- Employers
If you have suffered a brain injury in a motorcycle collision, scooter crash, pedestrian accident, or a slip and fall, contact our Encino personal injury lawyers at Binder & Associates by calling (818) 659-8588 to schedule a free consultation today to learn how our attorneys are a trusted resource for brain injury victims and their families to pursue the financial recovery they will need to move forward with confidence.
