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March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, and the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) has announced that the theme for the annual observation of this serious affliction for the next three years, will be “More Than My Brain Injury”.
The More Than My Brain Injury campaign seeks to help educate the general public about the struggles involved in living with a brain injury. Far too often, people living with disabilities are made to feel that those disabilities define their lives, instead of their personalities and accomplishments.
The BIAA’s new campaign will help individuals living with brain injury related disabilities, to define themselves by providing an outlet for them to tell their own stories. Life stories can be shared through the BIAA website, where they’ll also be posted, as well as across the organization’s social media profiles.
They’ve made available a number of graphics they ask the general public to share on social media, using the #MoreThanMyBrainInjury hashtag, with the goals of:
- Increasing understanding of brain injury as a chronic condition
- Reducing the stigma associated with having a brain injury
- Showcasing the diversity of injury and the demographics of the community
- Improving care and support for individuals with brain injury and their families
ABI and TBI
Acquired brain injuries are injuries that occur after a person is born. This excludes injuries that are hereditary, congenital, degenerative, or induced by birth trauma.
Of ABIs, there are two different types:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI), which are caused by an external trauma that is severe enough to alter brain function and/or pathology, such as a motor vehicle accident or a slip and fall.
- Non-traumatic brain injuries are typically caused by internal factors in the brain. This includes factors like oxygen deprivation, electrical shock or an exposure to dangerous toxins.
Brain injuries, regardless of their cause, often have diverse symptoms, and a wide range of effect on the lives of the injured. Concussions, while an injury that needs to be taken seriously, may only cause temporary and relatively minor disturbances in a person’s life, but more traumatic brain injuries can completely alter the course of a person’s life.
Brain Injury Facts
According to the BIAA, 5.3 million Americans, one person in every 60, live with long term disabilities related to a TBI. On top of that, a brain injury occurs every nine seconds in the United States alone.
The main cause of TBI by far is falling accidents, with falls accounting for almost half of all TBIs at 47.9%. But motor vehicle accidents are also a major cause, being responsible for 13.2% of these types of injuries.
The BIAA also say that 3.6 million brain injuries occur each year. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2014 alone, TBI contributed to 56,800 fatalities in America. If you haven’t suffered a TBI such as a concussion yourself, odds are that you know someone who has.
TBI and Car Accidents
Motor vehicle accidents result in thousands of traumatic brain injuries each year, ranging from mild concussions to severe and life changing injuries. Brain injuries often require expensive medical treatment and time away from work, in order to recover. And that is only if the consequences of the injury aren’t going to be life-long.
When a severe TBI is the result of the negligent actions of another driver, it can mean a life course forever altered, and a great deal of hardship for the injured party and their family. The responsible party has a duty to make right as much as possible, what has been made wrong.
Further Reading: The Most Dangerous Intersections in Colorado Springs
Contact Our Colorado Springs TBI Attorneys for Help Today!
Have you or a loved one been injured by the negligent actions of a driver? Are you concerned you won’t have the money to pay medical bills and lost expenses? If so, you need an experienced Colorado Springs attorney on your side to help you fight for justice.
Contact the dedicated attorneys at the Green Law Firm, P.C. today by calling (719) 694-8515, or by filling out the contact form on this page, to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation and discuss your case.