What causes traumatic brain injury?

From 2006 to 2010, falls were the leading cause of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) accounting for about 40 percent of all traumatic brain injuries in the United States that would have resulted in an emergency visit or hospitalization or death. Falls disproportionately affect both the youngest and oldest age groups. Unintentional blunt-force trauma, being hit by an object of some sort, was the second-leading cause of TBI and it counted for about 15 percent of all traumatic brain injuries in the U.S., withclose to a quarter of those were in children less than 15 years of age.

Among all age groups, motor vehicle crashes were the third overall leading cause of traumatic brain injury, about 14 percent. When you look at just traumatic brain injury deaths, motor vehicle crashes were the second-leading cause, about 26 percent. About 10 percent of traumatic brain injuries are due to assaults. Every day 138 people in the United States die from injuries that include traumatic brain injuries.