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Do Brain Injury Victims Have A Shorter Life Expectancy?

BIKLaw Medical Malpractice Lawyer > Personal Injury > Do Brain Injury Victims Have A Shorter Life Expectancy?

Brain injuries can be serious, long-term injuries that affect an individual’s way of life. For young victims of traumatic brain injuries, this could mean years of expenses relating to hospital and medical visits, assisted living care, and modifying one’s home to accommodate the victim’s mental or physical handicaps.

Many brain injuries occur as a result of a third party’s negligence. Whether this was medical malpractice at the hands of a doctor or a reckless or drunk driver who hit your car, the result is often the same: sky high medical bills and serious emotional trauma, all on top of the injuries associated with such incidents. If your loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury due to the unlawful actions of another person or business, contact an experienced brain injury lawyer immediately.

A recent study coming out of Sweden and published in a psychiatry magazine focused on the long and short term effects of brain trauma and narrowed in on brain injuries involving skull fractures, internal bleeding or loss of consciousness. The study found that about 1% of the group died before age 56, three times the rate in a control group of 2.2 million people without the injuries. Even more depressing was the finding that among the brain injury victims, their fatal accident rate was four times that of the control group and their suicide rate was more than triple.

While these studies can contain information that is difficult to read, especially for the family members of brain injury victims, we can learn a lot from not. For example, so-called“minor traumatic brain injuries” like concussions can have catastrophic or lifelong consequences. Lately, due to the NFL concussion settlement, there has been a great deal of attention brought to the emotional and physical consequences of concussions, and hopefully the younger generations will benefit from the experiences of the older generations.

How do brain injuries occur? Falls are the most common cause, followed by auto accidents. Falls can result from slip and falls in grocery stores and other businesses, or from overly rough ‘playing’ on the athletic field. If you or a loved one suffered a fall that resulted in a concussion or other brain injury, speak to an aggressive accident lawyer about your legal rights.

Serious head injuries impact both the victim and their families. As we addressed above, in addition to seemingly never-ending expenses and bills, families also suffer significant emotional trauma as they deal with behavioral, emotional, and other changes in their injured loved one. It is crucial that both the injured individuals and their families have access to the medical, financial and legal resources they need to overcome what can be a formidable challenge.

For more information on brain injuries resulting from negligence, contact doctor turned lawyer Bradley I. Kramer at BIKLAW today.

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