TBI Lawyer

Traumatic Brain Injuries: A Silent Epidemic

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 1.4 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury each year. The causes can be car accidents, falls, or sports mishaps. Despite this high number, experts believe that many more people each year sustain a traumatic brain injury. Why do they feel this way? Because the estimate reflects only emergency room visits; many patients, particularly those who experience a mild brain injury, never go to a hospital.

Three-quarters of all traumatic brain injuries are concussions or mild brain injuries. They are called mild brain injuries because the injured party was never unconscious or was not unconscious for a long time. Despite this, many people who have experienced a mild brain injury have problems remembering things and concentrating. Every day activities can become taxing chores. Short-term memory problems are particularly common.

The epidemic is silent because two-thirds of all individuals who sustain a concussion or mild brain injury are completely back to normal after three months. The accidents that cause these injuries are frequently so minor that neither a person’s doctor nor the injured person make the connection between a recent fall or accident and the patient’s current memory problems.

To make matters worse, many physicians have a limited understanding of brain injuries. They feel that if people have a concussion, wake up after an hour or so, and regain consciousness then their patient is fine to go home. This is frequently untrue. Even the mildest of brain injuries need to be treated with the highest degree of care.

If you have experienced a traumatic brain injury, contact the traumatic brain injury lawyers of Williams Kherkher at 1-866-950-9000 to schedule your initial consultation and to determine your legal options.