According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, there are currently an estimated 3.2 million people (at the minimum) in the U.S. who require long-term assistance because of a traumatic brain injury. When someone suffers a brain injury, their life may change in a number of ways. For example, their injury may prevent them from working, which could lead to a wide variety of financial problems. Or, they may experience lasting memory loss that has a significant impact on their life and relationships with others. In San Bernardino, California, and across the nation, brain injuries are a serious issue and it is important to review statistics to understand how often these injuries occur and some of the factors that play a role in the occurrence of these injuries.
On the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s site, alarming information concerning traumatic brain injuries was published. The CDC reports that in 2010, roughly 2.5 million hospitalizations, emergency room visits and fatalities were associated with a traumatic brain injury and TBIs were a factor in over 50,000 deaths. In fact, TBIs contribute to about 30 percent of all deaths caused by an injury in the U.S. and 138 people pass away due to injuries which include a TBI each day, on average.
There are many causes of traumatic brain injuries, but between 2006 and 2010, most were the result of falls (40.5 percent), while 19 percent of TBI causes were unknown. Other major risk factors included blunt trauma (which accounted for almost one out of four TBIs in children under 15), assault and traffic accidents.
