Did you know that more than 50,000 Canadians sustain brain injuries each and every year? If you’re shocked by this number, you’re likely not alone: for those of us who have not personally suffered a brain injury and whose family and friends have been similarly lucky, brain injuries may seem like a remote possibility, something that happens to ‘someone else.’
But brain injury lawyers, victims’ advocates, and doctors know differently. Brain injuries can range from concussions to traumatic injuries and can happen to anyone, from elite athletes to senior citizens. In short, they are incredibly common, as the following statistics and facts illustrate.
- 50,000 Canadians sustain brain injuries each year.
- More incidents of traumatic brain injury (TBI) occur each year than of Multiple Sclerosis, spinal cord injury, HIV/AIDS and breast cancer combined. Each of these injuries and illnesses deserves the substantial attention they receive from the medical community and the media; brain injury lawyers and advocates want to see brain injuries receive that same attention.
- TBI is the leading killer and disabler of Canadians under the age of 40, and more than 11,000 Canadians die each year as a result of brain injuries.
- More than 50 per cent of injury deaths and disablements in Canadian youth are caused by TBI. Indeed, around 30 per cent of all traumatic brain injuries occur in children and youth, and sports and recreational participation are the leading cause. While participation in community leagues can do wonders for children’s physical and social well-being, appropriate safety measures are essential.
- Among youth, males are twice as likely as females to sustain brain injuries. This may be the result of higher participation levels in organized sports or young males’ tendency to engage in risky behaviour, including unsafe driving habits. There is no such gender gap among older TBI victims.
- Car accidents cause more than half of all TBIs in Canada. Personal injury lawyers are intimately familiar with the damage car accidents cause each year. Improved road safety measures, including reduced speed limits, could help reduce TBI numbers.
- After one brain injury, you are three times more likely to incur a second, and eight times more likely to suffer other bodily injuries. The dangers of multiple head injuries are best known thanks to increased awareness of concussions.
- Concussions are brain injuries. You don’t have to be knocked unconscious to suffer a brain injury. Though first-time concussions are considered “mild” TBIs that damage your brain at a cellular level, recurring concussions can have severe, long-lasting effects.
- Each severe brain injury costs the medical system more than $400,000, and that’s only at the time the injury takes place. Individuals who suffer lasting symptoms may continue to cost the system roughly that same amount each year. Combined, brain and spinal injuries cost the Province of Ontario between $2- and $3-billion annually.
- According to Brain Injury Canada, about 20 per cent of people in forensic psychiatric settings in Ontario have a history of brain injury. Studies have also determined that about 50 per cent of Toronto’s homeless population and 44 per cent of Ontario’s inmates have TBI. In short, the effects of brain injury are diverse and long-lasting.
The brain injury lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have a long history of helping injured Canadians access compensation to help with their recovery. If you or a member of your family has suffered an injury, contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Photo credit: James Heilman, MD/Wikimedia Commons
Greg Neinstein
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