Facts and Statistics for Brain Injuries
Brain injuries are one of the most common contributors to death and disability in the country. Brain injuries are caused by a bump or blow to the head and are often labeled as TBI or traumatic brain injury to distinguish these accidents from illnesses of the brain. TBI ranges from mild to severe and can cause a number of different symptoms in victims. Falls are the leading cause of TBI; in fact, falls lead to more than one-third of all traumatic brain injuries. Another 17 percent of TBIs are caused by vehicle accidents, while 16 percent are caused by a victim being struck by an object and 10 percent are caused by violence. About 1.7 million victims suffer a brain injury annually. There are 52,000 deaths per year attributed to TBI; in fact, 30 percent of all injury-related deaths involve a brain injury. Another 275,000 people are hospitalized and 1.365 million are treated in emergency rooms for brain injuries, resulting in a cost of $60 billion per year in medical bills. Children and older people are particularly prone to TBI from falls. The number of TBI-related injuries has increased in the past decade by as much as 14 percent.
