TBI Data

Using national data for 1995-1996, the Center for Disease Control (CDC), a federal research agency, estimates that TBI has the following impact in the United States each year:

• 1 million people are treated and released from hospital emergency departments
• 230,000 people are hospitalized and survive
• 50,000 people die

TBI Incidence Rate, Risk Factors, and Causes.

Using preliminary hospitalization and mortality data collected from 12 states (Alaska, Arizona, Sacramento County [California], Colorado, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Utah) during 1995-1996, the CDC found the following:

• The average TBI incidence rate (combined hospitalization and mortality rate) is 95 per 100,000 population. Twenty-two percent of people who have a TBI die from their injuries.
• The risk of having a TBI is especially high among adolescents, young adults, and people older than 75 years of age.
• For persons of all ages, the risk of TBI among males is twice the risk among females.
• The leading causes of TBI are motor vehicle crashes, violence, and falls. Nearly two-thirds of firearm-related TBIs are classified as suicidal in intent.
• The leading causes of TBI vary by age: falls are the leading cause of TBI among persons aged 65 years and older, whereas transportation leads among persons aged 5 to 64 years.

The outcome of these injuries varies greatly depending on the cause: 91% of firearm-related TBIs resulted in death, but only 11% of fall-related TBIs are fatal. Incidence and prevalence of TBI-related disability. Based on national TBI incidence data and preliminary data from the Colorado Traumatic Brain Injury Registry that describe TBI-related disability in 1996-1997, the CDC estimated the following:

• Each year more than 80,000 Americans survive a hospitalization for traumatic brain injury but are discharged with TBI-related disabilities.
• 5.3 million Americans are living today with a TBI-related disability.

Cost: There is no way to describe fully the human costs of traumatic brain injury: the burdens borne by those who are injured and their families.

Only a few analyses of the monetary costs of these injuries are available, including the following estimate (lifetime cost of all brain injuries occurring in the United States in 1985):

In cases involving Traumatic Brain Injury, it is essential that measures be taken promptly to preserve evidence, prove the nature and extent of your injuries, and to enable expert medical witnesses to support the cause of your injuries. If you or a loved one has suffered what you believe may be a traumatic brain injury from an accident, call now at or CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT A SIMPLE CASE FORM. Don't delay! You may have a valid claim and be entitled to compensation for your injuries, but a lawsuit must be filed before the statute of limitations expires.