A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can occur to anyone and for numerous reasons such as falling, getting into a car accident, or anything else that causes a person to hit or bump one’s head. However, falls are the leading cause of TBIs and account for over 60 percent of all traumatic brain injuries in elderly people over the age of 65. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people over the age of 75 have the highest rates of TBI-related hospitalizations and death.
Why Are Seniors More Prone to Suffer Traumatic Brain Injuries?
Older adults tend to have a greater risk of falling and suffering brain injuries in Georgia due to the following reasons:
- They are more fragile and feeble
- They can be unsteady on their feet
- They take different medications, which have side effects
- They may get dizzy upon standing up
- They can get easily confused
- They are weaker
- Their feet just don’t work like they used to
- They have limited mobility
- They have impaired vision
Falls: The Leading Cause of TBI in Georgia’s Elderly
When a human body ages, the brain mass shrinks in size as part of the natural aging process. Because this gradually occurs over time, elderly people end up having more space between the inner lining of the skull and the outer lining of the brain. When a senior ends up falling down and hitting one’s head on a hard object or the ground, the brain has more space to slam into the hard skull and move back and forth. When this occurs, it can lead to:
- Damaged brain tissues
- Torn blood vessels
- Bruised brain
- Bleeding inside the brain
- Blood clots between the skull and brain
Any of these aforementioned effects of a fall can cause harm to the brain and its function. Sadly, a traumatic brain injury can be the result, which can affect every part of an elderly person’s life including thinking, reasoning, understanding, tasting, smelling, talking, communicating, and even emotional and personality changes.
If your loved one has fallen and hit his or her head, there may not be any immediate signs or symptoms, but you should never dismiss the fall. It is important to have your elderly loved one checked out by a doctor. If your spouse, parent, or grandparent suffered a brain injury in Georgia due to someone else’s negligence or hazardous property, you need to speak with a knowledgeable Peachtree City, Georgia brain injury lawyer at Shane Smith Law at (980) 246-2656 today in a free consultation.