Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury

Doctors define a traumatic brain injury as any injury to the brain caused by a trauma — a sudden blow, jolt or wound to the head — that disrupts normal brain function. (This distinguishes them from brain injuries caused by non-traumas, such as oxygen deprivation.) A wide variety of normal daily activities — driving a car, walking down stairs, sports — could result in a traumatic brain injury. But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most common causes of a TBI are:

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is defined as any injury to the brain caused by a sudden strike or wound to the head. The result of a TBI is disrupted brain function. traumatic brain injuries can occur at anytime, anyplace. While driving a car, walking down the street, or participating in sporting activities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these are the most frequent causes of TBI:

  • Falls, at 28%. This type of TBI is suffered disproportionately by children under 5 and adults over 75.
  • Motor vehicle accidents, at 20%. Car crashes are also the leading cause of TBI-related hospitalization.
  • Bring struck by or against something, at 19%. This can include being hit by a vehicle.
  • Assaults, at 11%. Brain injuries caused by firearms are the most common cause of death from a TBI; suicides account for two-thirds of firearm TBIs. Another type of assault that commonly leads to a TBI is shaking a baby.

TBI as a result of war combat has also become a factor since the start of the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center report that as many as 30% of active duty troops will experience some form of TBI; that rate climbs to as much as two thirds for those soldiers that are exposed to a blast from an explosive device. The CDC reports that certain jobs in the military, such as paratrooper, substantially raise a soldier’s risk of suffering from a TBI.

Males, African Americans, small children and teens between 15 and 19 are all disproportionately likely to suffer a traumatic brain injury.

The force involved in the traumatic brain injury jars the brain within the confines of the skull. The force of this blow can destroy brain cells or the neural connections between them. Since brain cells do not regenerate, the parts of the brain that are damaged cannot grow back or repair themselves, although the brain may learn to adapt to the loss of function it experienced. Depending on the location and severity of the injury, victims can have issues with motor skills, cognitive abilities, short and long term memory, emotional stability and well being, speech or even in the most severe cases, the ability for vital organs (like the lungs) to function.

These catastrophic injuries leave victims permanently impaired and in need of years of medical rehabilitation and treatment from various specialists. In addition to their TBI injuries, victims may be physically injured, emotionally traumatized and unable to work. All of these injuries can dramatically change the life of a victim and his or her family — and they can be very expensive as well. If you or someone you care about has sustained a traumatic brain injury due to another person’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensatory damages to help pay down some of the costs associated with your accident. Contact the experienced Philadelphia traumatic brain injury attorneys at Cherry Injury Law today at 215-675-2400 for a free consultation of your case.