Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury to the brain as a result of accident or injury. It may be focal (confined to a small area) or diffuse (affecting a large area of the brain).

Traumatic brain injury can affect virtually every area of functioning, from mobility to communication to memory. Individuals may be minimally affected, or may suffer severe impairment in one or more areas of functioning.

• Every 15 seconds, someone in the US will sustain a TBI.
• There are approximately 1.4 million TBI’s per year. Of these, 50,000 will die, 235,000 will be hospitalized, and more than 80,000 will be left with life-long disabilities.
• 1.1 million people with TBI are treated and released from an emergency department each year.
• Males are about 1.5 times more likely to sustain a TBI than females.
• The two highest-risk age groups are 0 to 4 and 15-19.
• African Americans have the highest death rate from TBI.
• At least 5.3 million Americans (nearly 2% of the population) currently have a long-term or lifelong need for help to perform activities of daily living as a result of TBI.
• The CDC estimates that there may be 1.6 to 3.8 million sports-related TBI’s each year.
• TBI is the leading cause of death and disability among children and young adults.
• The leading causes of TBI are falls (28%), motor vehicle accidents (20%), being struck or banging head against an object (19%), and assault (11%).
• A brain injury caused by a firearm is more likely to be fatal than any other type of brain injury.