Brain injuries can happen in almost any incident. Head trauma from truck and car accidents can often cause harm to the brain. But falls, defective products, and even medical errors can create conditions that result in either temporary or permanent brain damage.
In any case, brain injuries jeopardize your health and finances, as you might be subject to long-term physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms. Therefore, it is important to learn not only about the injuries but also the statistics surrounding them, as they can tell you how often these injuries happen in major cities.
After an incident involving brain trauma in Atlanta, GA, an attorney from Malone Law can evaluate your claim for compensation against those who caused your injury. Contact or call (770) 390-7550 our law firm today to schedule a free case evaluation to learn more about our legal services.
How Malone Law Can Help With a Brain Injury Claim in Atlanta, GA
Malone Law was founded in 1965 to represent accident victims throughout Atlanta, Georgia, in their pursuit of compensation. As such, our attorneys have decades of experience fighting on behalf of injured clients.
When you reach out to our firm after an accident that injures you, our Atlanta brain injury lawyers will do the following:
- Assess your claim and explain your legal rights and options
- Aggressively negotiate with insurers to settle your case
- Use decades of experience to battle at-fault parties and insurers in court
After a brain injury, you may require extensive medical treatment, years of therapy, and even a permanent caretaker. With that said, contact Malone Law for a free consultation to discuss the needs of you or your loved one following a brain injury and how we can seek compensation to meet them.
How Many Brain Injuries Happen?
Brain injuries are more common than you realize. One study, which provided definitions of a concussion to ensure survey participants could respond accurately, concluded with nearly 29% of respondents stating that they had suffered a concussion sometime during their lifetimes.
However, even those numbers might be too low, as another report found that only half of concussions suffered by sports players get diagnosed. In many cases, concussions go undiagnosed because people do not fully comprehend the range of their symptoms.
In total, about 2.8 million people are diagnosed with a fatal or non-fatal brain injury each year in the U.S. About 81,000 of these brain injuries happen in Georgia, according to the rates given in a multistate survey from 2014.
Brain Injury Statistics in Atlanta, Georgia
There are no specific statistics available regarding brain injuries in Atlanta. However, you can estimate the scope of what would be Atlanta brain injury statistics using those collected for the State of Georgia.
Brain Injury Numbers
A study in 2014 estimated the number of traumatic brain injuries in each state through the use of three types of medical records that reported them: emergency room visits, inpatient hospitalizations, and deaths.
Any overlapping cases were eliminated, and the rest were added together to estimate the total number of brain injuries that occurred in the state.
With that said, Georgia’s records for 2014 showed the following numbers:
- 71,730 ER visits for brain injuries
- 7,388 hospitalizations after brain injuries
- 1,899 brain injury deaths
Normalized by population, the study estimated that Georgia experienced 742.4 traumatic brain injuries per 100,000 residents. The state fell into the second-lowest quartile for ER visits and hospitalizations. However, it also fell into the second-highest quartile for deaths.
Atlanta has a population of just under 500,000 residents, which accounts for about 4.6% of the state’s population.
Assuming that brain injuries are distributed randomly throughout the population, you can estimate that Atlanta has the following annual averages:
- 3,281 brain injury ER visits
- 338 brain injury hospitalizations
- 87 brain injury deaths
Whether specific to Atlanta or looked at generally, these injuries result from various causes, including falls, automobile crashes, and medical malpractice.
Examples of Brain Injuries
Brain injuries take many forms. Concussions, for instance, occur when your brain is shaken inside your skull. The layers of protection surrounding the brain cause mild damage as they cushion it. Symptoms of a concussion usually include confusion, amnesia, and clumsiness.
Another form of brain injury occurs when another injury causes you to stop breathing, such as a surgical error in which your anesthesiologist fails to monitor you while under general anesthesia. Without oxygen, the brain suffers permanent damage within just a few minutes.
A blow to the head can also cause a type of brain injury called a subdural hematoma, in which a blood vessel in your brain ruptures. The leaking blood fills your skull and compresses your brain, and if doctors cannot relieve the pressure, you will die.
Lastly, whipping movements can tear the long axons of the brain cells, killing them. These diffuse axonal injuries (DAIs) often happen due to intentional assaults. Shaken baby syndrome and domestic violence deaths often result from DAIs.
Schedule a Free Initial Consultation With Our Experienced Atlanta Brain Injury Attorneys
No matter the cause or kind of trauma you experience, a brain injury can leave you permanently disabled. Contact Malone Law for a free consultation to discuss the compensation you can seek for the brain injuries you or your loved one have suffered.