Car accidents are leading cause of traumatic brain injury

In a recent Delaware tragedy, three children suffered injuries in a car crash, one severely. The oldest child was an 8-year-old. The accident ejected him from the vehicle and put him in critical condition with a serious head injury.

The report indicates that the children’s mother was driving the vehicle when she lost control of it, causing the automobile to flip over. There were no booster seats in the car and none of the children were wearing seat belts. The impact ejected all three of the children from the car although only one child suffered serious injuries.

Auto accidents are often the cause of TBIs, and reported tragedies like the one above are all too common.

Car crashes are a major cause of TBIs

According to Delaware’s Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities, the leading causes of traumatic brain injuries include the following:

• Car crashes including pedestrian accidents
• Slip-and-falls
• Stabbings and gunshots

TBIs are not uncommon injuries

Eight people each day receive treatment in emergency departments throughout Delaware for traumatic brain injury. More than 37 percent of those require hospitalization. Nearly one-quarter of those hospitalized need ongoing treatment after discharge.

Nationally, four people suffer a traumatic brain injury per minute. Nearly 20 percent of those head injuries resulting in hospitalization are severe TBIs.

Resulting impairments from TBI can be long-lasting

Moreover, the impairments resulting from the injury are typically long-lasting. Those effects may include the following:

• Headache, sleeping difficulties and fatigue
• Nausea
• Difficulty with memory, listening and speaking
• Reduced speed of thinking and ability to concentrate or maintain attention
• Balance problems
• Moodiness, irritability, depression and anxiety

Traumatic brains injuries can range from mild to moderate to severe. survivors are typically in a coma during the acute stage of the injury. They later usually need rehabilitation, which can help address and improve many of the above-listed impairments. It is also not unusual for such TBI survivors to receive long-term care well into the future, often on an outpatient basis.