Charity hopes new identity cards will help brain injured people
- 20.07.2017
- EmmaArnold
- Personal-injury, Personal-injury
A new initiative will be launched by Headway, the brain injury charity, later today with their Brain Injury Identity Cards.
The identity cards (pictured right) will allow people to identity themselves as brain injured with a list of traits they may show which can sometimes get them into trouble.
Police will then be able to identify brain injury survivors and ensure they are given the support they need.
Not only will the identity cards enable people to explain why they may be acting in a certain way but the cards will also break down any social exclusion they may experience as they can easily explain any assistance they may need.
Helen Shaw, Secretary at Headway South Cumbria from Potter Rees Dolan, said:
The new Headway Identity Cards have so many benefits to include enabling others to have a much better understanding of the particular difficulties faced by each individual. For example, they could also help to avoid people mistaking slurred speech and/or poor balance with intoxication, when in fact the problems are directly due their head injury
One brain injury survivor who will benefit from the identity cards is former Royal Marine Tom Birch who sustained a serious brain injury while serving in Afghanistan in 2006.
He now suffers with slurred speech and can become aggressive which means he often is refused service in bars as they think he is drunk, which can then lead in the police getting involved.
Headway hopes that the Brain Injury Identity Cards should prevent incidents like this occurring in the future.
HRH Prince Henry of Wales is to launch the new initiative at the home of Headway Suffolk, which is part of the charity’s network of around 130 groups and branches across the UK, this afternoon.
Helen Shaw is a personal injury litigation manager with Potter Rees Dolan. Should you have any queries about the issues raised in this article and wish to speak with Helen or any other member of the team please contact us on 0161 237 5888.