It doesn’t take much to cause you to suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Any contact, whether it’s a strike or punch to the head, a sudden jolt or something falling on you, can leave you with a TBI. Any act that affects the brain’s normal functioning can, for that matter. Individuals often suffer this type of injury in a slip-and-fall incident as well.
Data that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) compiled in 2014 shows that an estimated 2.87 million individuals sought treatment in a hospital for a TBI. At least 837,000 were children.
That same data shows that at least 48% of the individuals who came to the emergency room (ER) with a suspected TBI that year suffered falls before reporting those injuries. The bulk of those patients were either older adults or children. The CDC statistics show that at least 81% of adults aged 65 or older who doctors later diagnosed with TBIs previously suffered a fall. Just under one-half of all kids up to age 17 fell before visiting the ER with TBI-related symptoms.
CDC researchers also uncovered some trends as it relates to death rates among TBI victims. Older persons aged 65 and older were most apt to die from fall-related TBIs. Death rates were highest among those individuals 75 or over.
The statistics also showed that hospitalizations after falls were highest among children up to 17-years-old and adults 55 or over.
TBIs aren’t unique to individuals who suffer slips and falls. Other factors that result in this type of injury include motor vehicle accidents, struck-by incidents, contact sports and self-harm.
Countless individuals suffer TBIs here in Charlotte every year. Many of these injuries are relatively minor such as concussions. Others are far more serious. These incidents can leave you or your loved one with lasting impairments that one may never overcome. An attorney can advise you how North Carolina law allows you to recover compensation to cover medical bills and other expenses if you can prove that someone’s negligence resulted in your TBI.
