Brain Injury Law Blog : Head Injury : Coma : Personal Injury : Las Vegas Nevada Lawyer & Attorney Tim Titolo

The Archives of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation published its Position Statement: Definition of Traumatic Brain Injury in November 2010.  This new definition will hopefully serve advocates of those clients and patients who sustain traumatic brain injury.

This adds to the medical literature that supports the reality that brain injury need not involve loss of conciousness but rather an alteration of conciousness.  And, that mild brain injury can be due to variety of mechanisms. 

Of particular interest to me is the language "alteration in brain function" which leaves room for the brain injuries where a person is not knocked out.  How many times do we see opponents of traumatic brain injury relying on loss of concious as a necessary element.  The world famous case of Phineas Gage, and the railroad tie through his brain, did not involve loss of conciousness.

Imaging technology has improved our understanding and diagnostic clarification of the impact of mild traumatic brain injury.  We better understand the more subtle neurocognitive and neuroaffective deficits that may result from traumatic brain injury in general.

In April 2009, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense issued a Clinical Practice Guideline for management of concussion/mild traumatic brain injury.  In civilian, military, and veteran populations, there is increased recognition of the interrelationship between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and some psychological health (PH) disorders and the need to better understand the relationships by integrating research for these topics.

Simply stated, the definition is"

TBI is defined as an alteration in brain function, or other evidence of brain pathology, caused by an external force.

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TBI - Traumatic Brain Injury is a major public health problem, especially among males ages 15 to 24, and among elderly people of both sexes 75 years and older. Children aged 5 and younger are also at high risk for TBI. Males account for two thirds of childhood and adolescent head trauma patients.

Each year in the United States:
approximately 1 million head-injured people are treated in hospital emergency rooms,
approximately 270,000 people experience a moderate or severe TBI,
approximately 60,000 new cases of epilepsy occur as a result of head trauma,
approximately 50,000 people die from head injury,
approximately 230,000 people are hospitalized for TBI and survive,
and approximately 80,000 of these survivors live with significant disabilities as a result.

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