Each year in the United States, 1.4 million Americans will suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI). These closed-head brain injuries can have serious, chronic, and permanent consequences, ranging from memory problems to migraines to paralysis to personality changes to cognitive issues. Here are some more shocking brain injury facts and brain injury statistics:
· According to the Brain Injury Association of America, 50,000 people each year die because of a traumatic brain injury. Over one million people visit an emergency room because of a brain injury, and 235,000 suffer serious injury that requires a hospital stay.
· The total coast of medical bills and lost productivity related to TBI was over $56 billion in 1995.
· The leading cause of traumatic brain injuries is falls, with 28% of all reported TBI cases involving a slip or fall. Car accidents are the cause of one out of five brain injuries, while assaults make up over ten percent of brain injuries. Sports and other related activities, such as skiing and boating, also make up a significant number of traumatic brain injuries.
· More and more Iraq war veterans are returning home with traumatic brain injuries caused by explosions and other blasts during combat.
· The Center for Disease Control found that men are 1.5 times more likely to suffer a traumatic brain injury. Children ages 0 to 4 and 15 to 19 are the age group most at risk for a brain injury.
· Those in rural areas are more likely to suffer a traumatic brain injury than those in urban areas.
· Ten times more people suffer from a traumatic brain injury each than are diagnosed with breast cancer.
· Each year, 800,000 people will suffer a traumatic brain injury that will lead to permanent, long-term disabilities.
· Traumatic brain injuries account for 34 percent of all deaths from injuries in the country.
· The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes report that the average total costs of ONE PERSON suffering from a brain injury over a lifetime is a staggering $4 million.