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Like everyone whose life has been altered by a traumatic brain injury, Carol Stanley sought answers and needed help. Her son Jason was 19 years old when he suffered from a TBI after being assaulted by three other men in Auburn, Alabama. Despite being shuffled between 3 hospitals and examined by a multitude of doctors, Jason wasn’t diagnosed with TBI until weeks after his injury. He was x-rayed and treated for other injuries, including a fractured skull and jaw, loss of hearing, nausea and imbalance. His most serious injury, however, went undetected and untreated.

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Recent clinical studies indicate that people who received a traumatic brain injury in the past may be at risk of dying earlier from complications resulting from the injury, according to a report published by ABC News.

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On July 10, 2002, Susan Riddle was driving with her family when a drunk driver’s SUV landed on her windshield. Riddle’s husband and son emerged from the vehicle unharmed, but Susan was not as fortunate. Kent Riddle had to perform CPR on his wife as he waited for help to arrive. Having sustained a serious traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the crash, Susan would spend weeks in a coma, months in a hospital, and years in rehabilitation. Her fascinating story was told in BE Healthy magazine.

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The University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) and Children’s Hospital will be named as a “Lead Center of Excellence” by the Sarah Jane Brain Project, a national organization devoted to expanding research and awareness of Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury (PTBI), which is the leading cause of death and disability for children 15 years old and younger.

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What is the most common cause of death and disability for children and adolescents? According to the Centers for Disease Control, the answer is traumatic brain injury (TBI). Researchers are now finding that for those children who survive a blow to the head or even sustain a mild concussion, the effects of TBI can persist for years. Because the brains of children and adolescents are in the developmental stages, TBI can impede proper mental development, leading to psychological disabilities or a combination of mental disabilities.

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Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are being taken much more seriously in the U.S. armed forces now than ever. Doctors and scientists estimate that as many as twenty percent of troops returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan have some form and degree of TBI, ranging from blast related concussions to blunt force trauma and penetrating wounds.

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Last month we shared the story of Jason Stanley, an Auburn University student who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI)when three other men ambushed and maliciously attacked him in an alleyway. Jason lost consciousness after falling and hitting his head on the concrete pavement, yet one of the assailants continued to kick him in the face, according to a witness. The attack left Jason with a spectrum of physical and psychological problems – a fractured skull, severed nerves, loss of hearing, dizziness, anxiety, confusion, anger, depression – all symptoms of a TBI that took doctors days to discover.

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One side of Carol Stanley’s fight to balance the scales of justice is her work with the Crime Victims Task Force. As we explained in the previous segment, Carol is working with the Alabama Attorney General’s Office to make the Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights enforceable, much the way it is in several other states. The other side of her work involves meeting with her state legislators to amend a law and make it easier to prosecute acts of violence that result in traumatic brain injury.

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Carol found that both the legal proceedings and the laws themselves were far from perfect – representing an objectionable pairing of too much protection for offenders with too little justice for victims. As her son Jason struggled with the effects of a traumatic brain injury, the men who assaulted him were protected as youths and thus shielded from any real punishment. Adding insult to injury, the court system seemed to impede Carol’s quest just to stay informed of any legal activity concerning her son’s assault.

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Thursday we talked about the ordeal that Jason Stanley, a 20-year-old Auburn University student, endured after being physically assaulted by 3 other men in 2007. The assailants knocked Jason to the ground, causing him to lose consciousness after he hit his head on the concrete pavement. Doctors initially treated Jason for superficial wounds, not realizing until weeks later that he actually suffered from a serious traumatic brain injury (TBI).

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