March is Brain Injury Awareness Month

Brain Injury Awareness Month

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, a time to reflect on the serious impact that brain injuries can have. Unfortunately, brain injuries are usually quite severe and a major cause of death, bringing tragic implications for injured individuals and their loved ones. The difficulty of navigating life after damage or loss of cognitive facilities can’t be overstated — yet these are injuries that the average person doesn’t know much about. 

When it comes to brain injury awareness, knowledge is power. Knowing the basic signs and causes of a brain injury can be life-saving if you or someone you know sustains one. And the data shows that you might be more at risk of a brain injury than you’d think.

McEldrew Purtell is a brain injury law firm devoted to helping clients recover compensation after a brain injury brings devastating consequences and financial burdens. If you or a loved one have suffered a brain injury, contact McEldrew Purtell and speak with a brain injury lawyer about your options for pursuing compensation. 

4 Facts to Raise Brain Injury Awareness

Brain injury attorneys spend their careers helping injured individuals and their loved ones fight for compensation after victims suffer a brain injury. Skilled attorneys also know that the success of a brain injury lawsuit depends on how individuals react in the immediate aftermath of an accident. 

Brain injuries are common, and they can happen to people of all ages in various situations. From car accidents to sporting events, brain injury lawyers know that anyone can sustain a life-altering brain injury in the blink of an eye. 

The bottom line is that brain injury awareness is important for helping more people understand the frequency of this tragic type of injury and ensuring that more individuals know the early signs and how to take action when a brain injury occurs. 

With that in mind, here are 4 facts that you should know about brain injuries:

1. Brain Injuries Cause 176 Deaths Each Day

The CDC reports that around 64,000 people die annually from brain injuries, 176 per day on average. The impact is thousands of lives cut short and countless loved ones left to grieve the absence of the deceased. 

But the truth is that many of these deaths are preventable. Most serious brain injuries happen due to someone’s negligence, like a reckless driver who causes a crash. Even more tragically, many brain injuries lead to death due to a lack of awareness — people who don’t know the signs of a brain injury are less likely to seek life-saving medical care.  

2. Falls Are the Leading Cause of Brain Injury Hospitalization

Brain injuries can happen in countless ways, but certain accidents lead to brain injuries more often than others. For example, accidents that involve striking or jolting the head naturally lead to a higher incidence of brain injury.

These injuries can happen very easily if you trip and fall. In fact, the CDC reports that falls make up nearly half of all traumatic brain injury hospitalizations. Falls are also one of the leading causes of workplace injuries. This is particularly true in occupations like construction, where a worker is more likely to fall from a significant height.

Elderly individuals are also at high risk of sustaining a brain injury. As people age, their balance deteriorates, as does the integrity of their bodies, increasing the likelihood of both falling and suffering serious injuries. 

3. Knowing the Signs of a Brain Injury Can Save Lives

Some brain injuries are immediately apparent, but many are not. And when there’s no visible injury after an accident involving head trauma, early brain injury symptoms are often waved off. After all, taking a fall or ending up in a car crash are unsettling experiences, and an injured person may attribute their shock and confusion to the upsetting nature of the fall, rather than something physically wrong.

But failing to seek medical care after a brain injury can lead to serious or fatal medical complications like brain bleeding or brain swelling. If the common signs of a brain injury were a matter of common knowledge, more people would seek medical care or encourage an injured loved one to see a doctor. 

4. Brain Injuries Are One of the Most Expensive Injuries

Brain injuries are widely regarded as one of the most expensive types of injury a person can sustain. When a brain injury is severe, the injured person needs emergency care or hospitalization. And even after a range of tests, surgeries, and procedures, many severe brain injury victims are never able to recover. 

A severe traumatic brain injury often leads to the need for lifelong assisted care, which means the family is left paying for an assisted living facility or in-home aid for the remaining years of the victim’s life. 

When recovery is possible, it’s often a lengthy process that may require several different types of therapists. In addition to the emotional devastation, loved ones often find themselves saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills. 

But thankfully, a brain injury lawyer can help recover these costs.

How Brain Injury Lawyers Make a Difference 

A severe brain injury is a devastating event. Family members are left to care for a loved one who may no longer recognize them. In some cases, victims may spend years in a coma, never regaining consciousness. As if this tragedy were not enough for loved ones to deal with, the expense of caring for someone with a brain injury can be financially ruinous.

Brain injury lawyers work with families to recover compensation after an accident results in a brain injury. While it can’t restore a loved one’s health on its own, compensation can at least ensure that the family can afford the cost of long-term care. 

The brain injury attorneys at McEldrew Purtell have recovered over $2 billion in compensation for our personal injury clients. We’ve negotiated multiple million-dollar settlements in brain injury cases, providing financial relief to families whose loved ones suffered avoidable injuries. 

To learn more about how we can help make a difference in your ability to care for a loved one, contact McEldrew Purtell and speak with one of our experienced brain injury attorneys today.