CDC Study Finds Trends in Traumatic Brain Injury Related Fatalities

By Grant Law Office on June 1, 2011

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as trauma to the brain caused by an external force that alters brain function. Though TBI can range from mild to severe, it is a major cause of death and disability in the U.S.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), an average of 53,014 deaths per year were related to traumatic brain injuries from 1997-2007. This resulted in a total of approximately 580,000 total deaths for that decade.

Various trends were discovered throughout this study. Concerning gender, males suffered TBI-related deaths 3 times more than females. If we add ethnicity to the male trend, non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Natives experienced the highest rate of fatal TBI incidents and Hispanic males experienced the lowest. Age also played a factor in fatal TBI conditions. In order of highest to lowest TBI fatality rate are young children aged 5 years or younger, older adults aged 75 years or older and teenagers between the ages 15 and 19. The leading causes of TBI-related deaths, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or age, involved firearms, motor-vehicle accidents and falls.

Although there was a decrease in TBI-related deaths during the 1997-2007 decade-long study, traumatic brain injury continues to be a health concern nationwide. Traumatic brain injuries in Georgia, even if they are not fatal, have devastating effects on the victims and their families. Most often, the effects of a traumatic brain injury cannot be reversed and may only minimally improve with extensive medical treatments and rehabilitation.

If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury in Georgia due to the actions of another, you and your family may be entitled to compensation for medical treatment and rehabilitation costs, lost past and future earning capacity, pain and suffering, and other losses. The compassionate Atlanta traumatic brain injury lawyers of The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C., understand the hardships of living with a traumatic brain injury and can help injured victims and their families through this difficult time. To find out more about your legal rights and options, please contact us at (404) 995-3955.