Personal Injury News

March Is Brain Injury Awareness Month In North Carolina

Every 15 seconds in this country, someone receives a brain injury. Today, there are more than 5 million Americans permanently affected by a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that has left them needing some degree of help just to perform everyday activities most take for granted.

In keeping with national observances, Gov. Mike Easley has proclaimed March as Brain Injury Awareness Month in North Carolina.

According to Flo Stein, chief of Community Policy Management for the N.C. Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, TBI survivors often have significant long-term disabilities and medical complications after receiving a brain injury. A TBI is caused by external physical force. It usually happens when the head hits something – a windshield during a car crash, the sidewalk during a fall or the bullet from a gun. Shaking a baby can cause a TBI. Symptoms range from mild to severe, depending on the extent of brain damage.

“The statistics for traumatic brain injuries should be a wakeup call for all of us. In North Carolina alone, more than160,000 experienced a TBI. In 2004, over 5,000 of these injuries required hospitalization, which cost over $190 million,” Stein said. “TBI costs the country more than $56 billion in lost wages, hospital costs and long-term care. Half of all TBI’s involve alcohol use and more than 50 percent of these injuries occur in a transportation-related accident.” Read more at dhhs.state.nc.us.

Contact a personal injury attorney in Ohio now!

Get legal help for your injuries by hiring a lawyer in Ohio that you are sure will handle the case with respect to you and the legal profession. Hire a personal injury lawyer that has experience in your claim area.

	Did You Know?
	Health care insurers can be repaid from a personal injury settlement It's quite common. Most health insurance policies now have language that allows the insurance company to be repaid for the amount paid out on medical bills if the insured person gets a personal injury settlement. Depending on the law in your state, your daughter may be able to deduct attorney's fees and costs from the total amount owed to her health insurer.