Last time, we started providing some background information on traumatic brain injuries as a demonstration of our firm’s commitment to raising awareness during Brain Injury Awareness Month, an annual campaign put on by the Brain Injury Association of America.

In today’s post, we’ll continue this effort, discussing the incidence rates for TBIs here in Pennsylvania and across the U.S., as well as those who are most at risk of suffering this potentially life-altering trauma.

How many people here in the U.S. suffer TBIs?

According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 1.4 million people across the U.S. suffer TBIs every year. CDC statistics also show that an average of 1.1 million people are treated and released from emergency rooms for TBI treatment every year, while an average of 235,000 people require hospitalization for a TBI every year.

As for the fatality rate associated with TBIs, the CDC has determined that as many as 50,000 lose their lives every year.

What about here in Pennsylvania?

The figures from the BIAA of Pennsylvania are similarly grim in that they reveal 245,621 residents are currently living with some form of brain injury, and that an average of 8,612 develop a long-term or life-long disability attributable to a brain injury each year.

Furthermore, BIAA of Pennsylvania statistics show that an average of 49,500-plus residents are treated and released from emergency rooms for TBI treatment every year, while an average of 10,400-plus residents require hospitalization for a TBI every year.

The annual fatality rate associated with TBIs here in the Keystone State sits at over 2,200 people.

What groups are most at risk of suffering a debilitating or potentially deadly TBI?

CDC statistics show that the chances of males suffering a TBI are one-and-a-half times greater than females, while the age groups with the highest TBI risk are 15-19 year-olds and 0-4 year-olds.

We’ll conclude our discussion by examining some of the long-term consequences of a TBI and how medical negligence often serves to exacerbate this condition.