Dangers Of Acquired Brain Injury

Acquired brain injury or ABI is any damage to the brain resulting from a sudden, external, physical assault. Such injury is one of the most common causes of death and disability in adults.

Acquired brain injury (ABI) is an expansive term, which describes a wide range of injuries that occur to the brain. Damage to the brain may either be:

Focal - damage is limited to one section of the brain

Diffuse - damage occurs in more than one section of the brain

The severity of brain injuries may range from a minor concussion to a serious injury which results in coma or death.

Acquired brain injuries (ABI) are also known as traumatic brain injuries or TBI.

Statistics of Brain Injury

Here are some statistics about brain injuries from the Brain Injury Association:

There are around 1.5 million Americans that suffer brain injuries and about 80,000 suffer from long-term disabilities every year.

Today, more than five million people in the United States are living with a disability related to traumatic brain injuries.

Every year, over 50,000 people in the U.S. die after traumatic brain injuries.

Types of Acquired Brain Injury

Brain injuries can occur in two ways:

Closed Brain Injury

A closed brain injury occurs when there is a non-penetrating damage to the brain without a break in the skull. It is caused by a rapid backward or forward shaking and movement of the brain inside the skull, resulting in the tearing and bruising of blood vessels and brain tissues. Such injuries are often caused by vehicle accidents and falls.

Open or Penetrating Brain Injury

Open or penetrating head injuries occur when the skull breaks, damaging the brain, such as when a bullet pierces the brain.

Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI)

Diffuse axonal injury or DAI is the tearing or shearing of the long connective fibers or axons of the brain. This occurs when the brain gets damaged as it rotates and shifts inside the skull. DAI often causes coma and injury to various areas of the brain. The changes in the brain are usually microscopic and may not be seen on magnetic resonance imaging or MRI scans, or computed tomography or CT scan.

Primary Brain Injury

Primary brain injury refers to the profound and sudden injury to the brain that is considered to be almost complete at the time of impact. This injury occurs at the time of a fall, car accident, or gunshot wound.

Secondary Brain Injury

Secondary brain injuries refer to the changes which evolve over a certain period of time, from hours to day, following primary brain injuries. This includes an entire cascade of blood vessel, tissue, chemical, or cellular changes in the brain that play a part to the further destruction of brain tissues.

Getting Help

An acquired brain injury can range from mild to serious injuries. But no matter how mild or how serious your injury is, if this resulted from an accident because of someone elses fault, you have the right to recover damages. In such instances, it is important to get legal advice from a lawyer who has various experiences in handling personal injury cases.

By: Kamille Pagibigan