Non-ballistic head injuries suffered by military personnel
| Location and date | Head injury type (main) | Head injury cause (main) | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK16 1944 | Casualty rate 2.1% | Parachuting | Study of 20 777 UK service personnel |
| UK17 1948 | Concussion rate 12% | Parachuting | Study of 280 000 UK service personnel from training schools. 0.05% of all jumps resulted in a casualty |
| USA18 1951–1962 | Concussion rate 34% Fatality rate 5% | Parachuting | |
| UK19 1964–1970 | Head injury rate 0.03% | Parachuting | 31 UK military parachutists. 84% of head injuries occurred on landing, amnesia of <1 h occurred in 77% of all cases |
| Germany20 1975–1982 | Injury rate 0.25% | Parachuting | Two fatalities: 1בskull fracture’; 1בbrain injury’ |
| UK21 1987–1991 | Fractured skull | Vehicles (36%) Machinery (22%) Falls (30%) | Non-combat UK military personnel hospitalised for >24 h due to head injury Overall injury rate 0.3% Not known if helmet worn |
| Concussion | Vehicles (33%) Machinery (31%) Falls (31%) | ||
| Intracranial injury | Vehicles (27%) Machinery (35%) Falls (34%) | ||
| UK7 1978–1994 | Fatal injury rate 6% | Parachuting | Study considered 83 hospitalised UK military parachutists |
| USA22 1985–1989 | Fatal injury rate 1.4% Concussion rate 57% | Parachuting | 277 injured military parachutists |
| UK23 1991 Op GRANBY (Gulf) | 11 fatal injuries 60 intracranial injuries 38 concussion 24 open wounds | 61 injuries caused by transport 61 41 injuries caused by machinery | 153 UK military personnel were hospitalised due to head injuries; 8/11 fatal injuries were attributed to ballistic causes; 65 injured personnel received their injuries when on-duty and 48% of these were recorded as battle casualties. The mean length of hospital stay was 7.75 days |
| UK24 1997 | Fractured skull | Helicopter blade impact | Study concluded that wearing the Mk6 helmet saved the life of the injured soldier |
| Afghanistan25 2002 | No head injuries | Chinook crash | Study concluded that wearing helmets prevented serious head injuries |
AIS, abbreviated injury score; DoD, Department of Defense; KIA, killed in action; MOD, Ministry of Defence; mTBI, mild traumatic brain injury; WIA, wounded in action; WWI; World War I.