College Student Suffered Severe TBI from Assault
When we hear about a young student suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI), many of us might assume that the student sustained a sports-related concussion or a severe head trauma in an auto accident. Although it is not discussed as frequently as some other origins of TBIs, assault is among the leading causes of head trauma throughout the country. Brain injuries that result from physical assaults can be debilitating and in some cases deadly. According to a recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, a 20-year-old college student continues to recover from head injuries he suffered more than a year ago at Bloomsburg University.
Back in February of 2014 a freshman at Bloomsburg University attempted to intervene in a physical fight at a fraternity. The disruption involved four football players from another nearby school. When the freshman tried to break up the fight, one of those football players punched him and caused him to fall backwards and crack his skull. He “spent more than nine months in hospitals” before he was able to return to his family’s home around Thanksgiving of last year. Yet even at home, he “couldn’t take a step on his own and needed a feeding tube,” nor could he utter more than a few words. With many more months of therapy, he has been able to walk, talk, and engage in other activities once again. Hopefully, he will be able to return to college on a part-time basis.
Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), TBIs are responsible for around 30 percent of all injury-related deaths each year. To put that number in perspective, it means that an average of 138 people die every day after suffering a serious brain injury.
While many TBIs result from accidents, they are also relatively common among victims of assault and domestic violence. According to a fact sheet from Brainline.org, the following represent the leading causes of TBIs across the country:
- Falls (35 percent of all TBIs, or nearly 600,000 injuries);
- Car accidents (about 17 percent of reported brain injuries, or nearly 300,000 injuries);
- Struck by/against incidents (around 16.5 percent of TBIs, or just under 280,000 injuries); and
- Assaults (10 percent of all brain injuries each year, or nearly 170,000 injuries).
Falls and auto accidents are the leading causes of TBIs each year, but assaults are not too far behind. If you or your loved one experienced a traumatic brain injury as a result of an assault, contact a traumatic brain injury attorney to determine your rights.
