TBI Becoming Higher Profile

It's frightening to know that every year in the U.S. there are
roughly 1.5 million Americans who will suffer from the effects of a
traumatic brain injury that ranges from mild to severe. This number is
higher than the number of people who will suffer heart attacks.

Those who do not survive their initial traumatic brain injury (TBI)
number over 51,000 and over 230,000 people land in the hospital with
TBI and manage to survive. Most of them survive with some significant
memory loss and a definite change in personality -- and a dramatically
altered life style that changed in the blink of an eye.

Further statistics indicate that over one million people are
actively treated in an ER setting for TBI and that roughly $56 billion
is spent treating the results of TBI. This is no small potatoes in
terms of being a serious and life-threatening event. Once such an
injury has been sustained, the victims face dealing with long-term
disability and over 90,000 Americans deal with this daily.

The frightening thing about TBI is that it is often misdiagnosed as
a bump, bruise or contusion and no further investigations are
conducted. This is an injury that does not tend to leave any visible
signs; and thus, it goes its silent way, doing more and more damage as
it is left untreated. People who have suffered a TBI look normal on the
outside, but that can't be said to be true on the inside.

The issue of dealing with TBI has started to be a major concern
these days, thanks to the numbers of Iraq war vets returning home with
this type of injury. It's on the increase thanks to soldiers bodies
being adequately protected from bomb blasts, but the protection they
were wearing did nothing to shield their brains from massive concussive
explosions.

The national spotlight is hotly focused on this issue now more than
ever thanks to the story of ABC News Anchor Bob Woodruff who suffered a
brain injury last year as the result of a roadside explosion in Iraq.
While cases like this serve as a flash point of knowledge for others
who may not know about TBI and its effects, most of the cases aren't
happening in the war zone in Iraq. They're happening in traffic
accidents. Over 40% of TBIs happen in car crashes.

With all the protective equipment in cars you’d think people would
be safer, and not at a higher risk for such serious injuries. Sadly, it
is the result of all this extra "protective" technology – air bags,
helmets, and seat belts – that has seen an increase in TBIs over the
last ten years. Why is this the case? All this stuff that protects us
from dying isn't protecting us from injuring our brains.

If you've been in an accident and suffered a TBI, immediately
contact a competent TBI attorney who will be able to guide you through
the process of obtaining a just settlement from the courts.

Tony Francis is an Orlando personal injury lawyer. His practice
specializes in being an Orlando accident lawyer helping innocent
victims get compensation for their losses. To learn more about Orlando injury lawyer, Orlando personal injury lawyer, Orlando accident lawyer, Orlando injury attorney, visit Francislawgroup.com.