About Brain Injury

Each year more than 11,000 Ohioans are hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury. An estimated 196,000 Ohioans live with the residual effects of brain injury. Serious brain injuries can cause loss of consciousness, lasting only a few minutes or resulting in coma, which may last for days, weeks or months. Intellectual impairment, short-term memory loss, speech problems, personality changes, behavioral disorders and physical disability are common problems. Individuals and their families often face a long period of rehabilitation. Most brain injuries are the result of moving vehicle accidents, but falls, gunshot wounds and assaults are also common causes. Brain injury can also be caused by infections, bleeding, or lack of oxygen to the brain. Brain injury occurs primarily in young people who are more likely to survive after severe injury, but face a dramatically changed life.