A new report indicates a substantially increased risk of traumatic brain injury in prison inmates compared to the general, non-incarcerated population. Brain injury among prisoners is a much neglected and underestimated health and safety issue facing these people.

According to the study Traumatic Brain Injury among Prisoners, brain injuries are believed to affect an estimated 25% to 87% of the prison population in the country. In comparison, about 8.5% of the non-incarcerated population of the country suffers from traumatic brain injury. The incidence of traumatic brain injury in the prison population therefore, may be as much as 10 times as in the non-incarcerated population.

There have been other studies and surveys that have pointed to the causes of such injuries. In a study conducted among male prisoners in Minnesota, the survey found that of the 998 inmates, an approximate 82% reported having suffered from one or more head injuries during their lives. Most of these injuries were caused by assault, auto accidents and sports accidents. However, the Minnesota study seems to indicate that prisoners may also be at risk of suffering brain injury because of certain unique prison factors. For instance in Minnesota, incarcerated gang members are sometimes initiated through a procedure called “pumpkinhead,” in which a person is severely beaten until his head swells like a pumpkin.

Another study showed that traumatic brain injury occurs among prisoners who knock their heads against the cell walls or bars until they are unconscious. This is very often seen in persons who are restrained in isolated cells.

The report makes for fascinating reading. California brain injury attorneys suspect that the problem is even greater in California with its overcrowded and congested prisons that have recently been criticized by the Supreme Court because of the lack of medical care.