Fighting Traumatic Brain Injuries through the Seatbelt Law

A crash victim has a great possibility of sustaining head injuries. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), head injuries are any form of trauma that caused damage to the skull, scalp or brain.

Once the brain is damaged through these injuries to the head, the condition is referred to as Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI. Individuals who have this ailment may experience changes in the way they think, speak and feel.

TBI is a growing health problem within the country. Some of its main cities where a lot of road activity is present may have numerous cases of brain injury caused by vehicular accidents. Los Angeles in California is considered as one of these high risk cities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had confirmed through its reports that as of 2009, some 588 accidents had already taken place in this area.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also found out that around 1.7 million Americans sustain TBI yearly. About 52,000 of these victims die, while some 1.365 million or 60 percent are being treated and released from hospital emergency departments. The CDC further said that motor vehicle traffic injury is the leading cause of TBI deaths especially for people aged 20 to 24 years old. 

To fight the growing rate of these health concerns, different states created laws that would govern motorists. In California, a Mandatory Seatbelt Law is strictly implemented. It is also referred to at times as the Vehicle Code Section 27315. Here are some of its provisions: 

·         The laws prohibit the operation of a motor vehicle on a highway if the driver and its passengers age 16 and above are not restrained by a safety belt.

·         The lower portion of the safety belt must cross the hips or upper thighs of the vehicle occupants, and the belt’s upper portion must likewise cross the chest area. 

·         People who will be found violating the laws on safety belts would be fined. The fines shall increase each time the violator is apprehended. 

If a vehicle crash victim sustains TBI due to motor vehicle mishaps in California, it would be then necessary for them to hire the services of a Los Angeles automobile accident attorney. This person would point out in court that the victim of the mishap should be granted damages in order to pay for expensive hospital fees brought by the brain injury.