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After brain injury, 18-year-old has to wear medical helmet

One of the leading causes of disability and death in the United States, including in California, is traumatic brain injury. Despite calls for motorcyclists, bicycle riders and sports participants to wear helmets to protect their heads, catastrophic head injuries — and deaths — of people who prefer not to wear helmets continue to be reported. A June incident in another state left a high school graduate with a severe brain injury after he went long boarding without wearing a helmet.

The young man lost control and plunged down a hillside, knocking his head on the ground multiple times. He was not breathing when he arrived at the emergency room, but he was fortunately revived and after spending several months in a coma he continues to suffer the consequences of not wearing a helmet. His swollen brain required doctors to remove a significant section of his badly fractured skull, and his brain will remain exposed until it is safe for surgeons to replace it. In the meantime, he has to wear a medical helmet at all times.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one-third of all deaths caused by injury involve traumatic brain injury. In 2009, estimated numbers of children under the age of 19 who received treatment for TBI or concussion related to sports and recreation totaled as many as 249,000. In the following year, 50,000 of the 2.5 million individuals who were treated for brain injuries did not survive. While helmets will not prevent all brain injuries from happening, it has proven to lessen the number of fatalities.

It is not uncommon for a brain injury to be the result of the negligence of other parties, leaving the victim with a diminished quality of life. Such incidents may involve drunk or reckless drivers, dangerous premises, automobile defects and more. Victims may pursue compensation for all documented financial losses by submitting appropriate evidence of negligence before a California civil court. Attorneys who focus on handling personal injury claims with respect to brain injuries are available to protect the rights of accident victims throughout the process.

Source: deseretnews.com, “Living — or dying — with decision not to don a helmet“, Lois M. Collins, July 28, 2015