Accident on 80Traumatic Brain Injuries and Negligence Claims: The Real Cost
It is fairly common for people involved in serious, or even moderately severe car accidents to suffer traumatic brain injuries. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a complex injury that has a broad spectrum of symptoms that can result in a variety of disabilities. As a result, this can have a profound effect on his or her family. A traumatic brain injury may have an effect on the person’s ability to function in daily life, perform the same job functions, maintain employment, familial relationships, mood, and overall health.
Traumatic brain injuries are much more common than people think, and the single greatest cause of traumatic brain injuries is car accidents. A 2009 study out of Missouri found that traumatic brain injuries as a result of car accidents create a net economic loss of approximately $513 million dollars per year. (see more at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18212649/) In addition, individual brain injuries can cost between $90,000 to well over $3,000,000 over the lifespan depending on the severity of the injury and the extent that the person is unable to recover from the injury.
Traumatic brain injury is very different from an anoxic brain injury. An anoxic brain injury occurs which occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen. Examples of anoxic brain injury include surgical complications, full cardiac arrest and near-drowning. On the other hand, traumatic brain injuries typically result in bruising and swelling of the brain, whereas anoxic brain injury causes brain cells to die as a result of oxygen deprivation. (see more at: Long, What is Anoxic Brain Injury? Washington, D.C.: Brain Injury Association, Inc. (formerly National Head Injury Foundation).
