Early this week, the search for a missing Ohio State football player and former Buckeyes wrestler ended in tragedy. The 22-year-old man, Kosta Karageorge, was found in a dumpster, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot would. Days before his disappearance and suicide, Karageorge sent his mother a text message saying, "I am sorry if I am an embarrassment but these concussions have my head all f----- up." Because of evidence that a history of concussions led to his suicide, a medical examiner will perform an autopsy looking for signs of traumatic brain injury and degenerative brain disease associated with repeated concussions among NFL football players and other athletes.
While stories like this put sports-related brain injuries in the news, any head injury can cause permanent physical, cognitive, or emotional disability if the injury disrupts normal brain function. Both injury victims and families of people who have sustained head trauma in an accident or through an act of violence need to understand Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and its symptoms and effects.
Following are 5 things you need to know about TBI if you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury:
1. Traumatic Brain Injury is more common than you think. Often, accident victims and their families and caregivers feel alone in the face of a devastating injury. Brain injury leads to a host of physical, mental, and emotional problems. Often, a victim of TBI will appear to have no physical or cognitive disability, but the injury causes significant personality changes, including depression or aggression. This can feel isolating, and it may seem as if there is no one who understands, and no one who can help.
However statistics show that TBI is one of the most commonly occurring types of serious injury. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 1.7 million people in the United States sustain a traumatic brain injury each year.
2. Certain populations are more at risk of serious brain injury. Accidents do not discriminate, and anyone can sustain a serious head injury. However, some demographic populations are more at-risk of TBI than others. The CDC reports that the most likely groups to sustain a TBI are:
Across all age groups, males are more likely to suffer traumatic brain injury that females. Nearly half a million children aged 0-14 seek emergency medical treatment for brain injury annually, and little boys aged 0-4 have the highest rate of emergency room visits for TBI.
3. Falls are the leading cause of TBI. When you look at the leading causes of traumatic brain injury, the most at-risk populations make sense.Falls are the leading cause of TBI, which explains why small children and the elderly, who are prone to falls, are among the highest-risk groups. Falls cause more than a third of all traumatic brain injuries, but they make up half of all TBI in children aged 0-14 and more than 60 percent of TBI in adults aged 65 and older.
Following falls as a leading cause of TBI are motor vehicle accidents, accounting for more than 17 percent of brain injuries. Head injuries from being struck by or against an object contributes to 16 percent of TBI, and assaults cause 10 percent.
4. The effects of TBI can be life changing. The majority of traumatic brain injuries--75 percent--are mild concussions. However, TBI is a contributing factor in nearly one-third of all injury related deaths. The effects of TBI may be temporary or permanent, and living with a traumatic brain injury can be difficult. Traumatic brain injury can cause cognitive impairment, physical disability, emotional disorders, and more:
With such significant impairment resulting from a head injury, medical treatment, physical therapy, and psychological or psychosocial counseling can be costly. If TBI leads to permanent disability, it may render the injury victim unable to work. These lost wages coupled with expensive medical and rehabilitative care can cause an overwhelming financial burden for families affected by TBI.
5. Financial help is available to TBI victims and their families. If a traumatic brain injury is sustained through an assault or act of negligence, you have the right to seek financial restitution and compensation for associated damages. A personal injury lawyer can evaluate your claim to determine all liable parties and to help you obtain a settlement or award that provides financial compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.
