When a loved one experiences a traumatic brain injury in Savannah, a wave of fear likely floods your mind. Such fears are indeed justified, as these injuries can easily leave victims physically and mentally disabled (or even incapacitated). That may not be the outcome of your loved one’s injury, yet in the immediate aftermath of the event, how are you to know?
Fortunately, a clinical observation test known as the Glasgow Coma Scale can offer an idea of how extensive one’s TBI might be (and, by extension, what their long-term prognosis may be). This test is conducted by observing a TBI victim’s responses in the following three areas:
- Eye movement
- Motor skills
- Verbal responses
The further one’s responses are in each of these categories from the standard baseline, the more extensive their injury is thought to be.
Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a score is assigned in each of the aforementioned response categories. The individual scores for each category are then added together to come up with an overall score. A score above 13 indicates a mild brain injury (typically a concussion). Scores between nine and 12 indicate moderate brain injury, and a score of eight or below means that your loved one suffered a significant brain injury.
Your loved one’s GCS score may come in to play when considering what action to take following their injury. A severe brain injury may require around-the-clock care for an extensive period of time (potentially the rest of their lives). The costs of such care can be great, and should be the responsibility of the person or party whose negligence or recklessness caused your loved one’s injury. This is not to say, however, that accidents resulting in mild or moderate TBIs do not warrant legal action either.
