Some Facts About Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is an injury to the brainGlasgow Coma Scale
where any type of sudden impact to the head is• Primary or secondary
severe enough to damage brain tissue. According toPrimary and Secondary Brain Injuries
the Brain Injury Association of America, about 1.4In many fatal TBIs, death does not occur
million Americans suffer a TBI every year, and ofimmediately, but only after days or weeks. What
that number:happens in those days or weeks are the secondary
• 1.1 million receive emergency roominjuries. They are not well-understood. Examples are
treatment and are releasedbrain swelling, changes in blood flow, a decrease in
• 50,000 die of their injurythe acidity/alkalinity of the brain (the pH), and free
• 235,000 are hospitalized for treatmentradical overload (free radicals are molecules with an
Those numbers are taken from hospital statistics, sounpaired electron. They try to pair up that single
the number of people who sustain TBIs but do notelectron by combining with other molecules, which
go to any emergency room in a hospital is notcan cause tissue damage.)
known.Effects of a TBI on Consciousness
Causes of TBIIn increasing order of severity, these are the
Most (about 28%) are caused by falls of one sort orabnormal states of consciousness that a TBI can
another. Road accidents and being struck on thecause:
head in other types of accidents account for about• Stupor - The person is unresponsive, but
20% each. About 11% are caused by violent assaults.can be aroused by a strong stimulus
For military personnel on active duty in a war zone,• Coma - Total unconsciousness which may
explosions are the principle TBI cause.end, with the person regaining consciousness
Those at highest risk for a TBI• Persistent vegetative state - the person is
• Gender - Males sustain a TBI about 1.5unconscious but has periods of alertness and a cycle
times as often as a femaleof sleeping and waking
• Age - Two age groups have the highest• Minimally conscious state - apparently
risk:unconscious, but shows periodic deliberateness of
• Children from babyhood to four years ofmovement
age• Locked-in Syndrome - the person is
• Adolescents from 15 to 19 years of ageawake and aware of their surroundings, but is
• Occupation - Military personnel have thecompletely paralyzed. Communications can be done
highest risk, especially paratroopersthrough eye movements or blinking, in a mutually
• Race - African Americans have the highestarranged code. There is a book written by means of
TBI death ratesuch a code, by a French author and editor of the
Types of TBImagazine Elle, named Jean-Dominique Bauby. He and
Because the brain controls every aspect of humanhis speech therapist developed a code where Bauby
behavior, ability, and functioning, a TBI can causeblinked his left eye, and the resulting book, translated
uncountable constellations of impairment. Each injuredas The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly, was published in
person has a unique combination of disabilities,March, 1997.
according to where exactly the brain was injured,When a TBI is caused by someone else's negligence,
how severely, how much bruising and bleedingthere may be a valid legal claim for compensation.
resulted, and other factors that can be quiteSuch negligence could be failing to keep premises
medically complex.safe, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs,
TBIs can be:or failing to properly supervise an elderly person in a
• Focal or diffuse - that is, confined to onenursing home. When the immediate medical attention
brain area, or extending over severalhas been obtained and the injured person is
• Open or closed - that is, caused bysomewhat stabilized, it would be worth while learning
something penetrating through the skull or by anmore about possible legal action. The first step would
impact to the skullbe to consult with an experienced personal injury
• Mild, moderate, or severe - according toattorney.
any of several classification systems, such as the