Brain injury – the facts

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Useful Information

  • 700,000 people visit A&E departments in the UK every year with a head injury; 140,000 of those will be admitted for treatment. [NICE]
  • There are approximately 1million people in the UK currently living with the long term effects of a brain injury. [Headway.org.uk, June 2013]

Brain injuries are commonly categorised as ‘traumatic’ or ‘acquired’

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the result of a blow to the head which might be caused by anything from a simple trip to a collision on the sports field to a major road accident or assault. A TBI is further classified as mild, moderate or severe. Find out more in our assessing brain injuries section.

There are many different types and severities of brain injury:

  • Concussion is the most common brain injury, and often described as a ‘mild’ injury.
  • A closed head injury occurs where there is impact without breaking the skull.
  • A penetrating head injury occurs when an object fractures the skull and enters brain tissue.
  • Diffuse brain injury occurs when the brain moves within the skull when the head is shaken, and damage might be caused in several areas where the brain hits the skull.
  • Brain contusion describes bruised or swollen brain tissue that occurs when the skull cracks or breaks and can be caused, for example, by a depressed skull fracture (fragments of a broken skull pressing against the brain) or a penetrating skull fracture (bone fragments enter the brain tissue).
  • Babies can suffer brain injury at birth, such as cerebral palsy.

An acquired brain injury (ABI) is an injury that occurred at or since birth. Whilst that does include TBIs, it is more commonly used to refer to injuries due to, for example, an infection, tumour, stroke or even a medical accident.

How can the Brain Injury Group help you?

If you’ve been affected by brain injury and need free legal or welfare advice, there are several ways to get in touch:

  1. Call us on 0800 612 9660 or 01737 852203
  2. Email us at enquiries@braininjurygroup.co.uk
  3. Complete this short enquiry form and we’ll get back to you