Severe traumatic brain injury is a significant cause of fatal and permanently disabling injuries in Americans including those arising from personal injury case like slip and fall or vehicle collision or wrongful death.
Types of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
The CDC classifies severe traumatic brain injury as closed or penetrating:
- Closed is an injury caused by the movement of the brain within the skill. Causes may be falls, vehicle accidents or other personal injury like blows or trauma to the head.
- Penetrating is an injury resulting from an external and foreign object entering the brain like a gun shot wound or knife wound.
Often severe traumatic brain injuries result in a coma. The Glasgow Coma Scale is a clinical tool that assess the severity of the impaired consciousness.
- 3-8 are severe traumatic brain injury
- 9-12 represent moderate traumatic brain injury
- 13-15 represent mild traumatic brain injury
Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Effects
The effects can be long ranging and/or permanent. People may slip into a coma, suffer from amnesia, or suffer from cognitive issues, motor function issues and emotional issues. The CDC discusses the clinical issues in further detail and offers the following stats.
The Stats
The CDC estimates that over 30,000 people each year in the US are killed in traumatic brain injury personal injury accidents. The cost in California alone according to the CDC for medical and work loss is $4.16 billion
The CDC further estimates for severe traumatic brain injury that motor vehicle crashes and other traffic related incidents, aka personal injury claims, are the highest contributing cause of fatalities across all age groups.
Contact Us for help
The above stats are terrifying. Severe traumatic brain injuries are life changing and require significant resources, specialists and proper future rehabilitative care. The undertaking is extensive, and if your loved one is the victim of a brain injury, you may require help to find compensation to tend to all their needs. There are may starting points. Our personal injury team is one such point. Do not hesitate to contact us at any time day or night weekend or holiday. We understand that serious injuries arise at the worse times, but we are here for you if you choose to reach out.