How is a brain injury measured?
After a brain injury, it takes time to heal. Some people may never fully recover, but even after recovery slows, there’s still some healing that takes place. Brain injuries occur whenever there is a documented loss of consciousness, skull fracture, abnormal brain scan due to trauma, post-traumatic seizure activity or amnesia in most cases.
After a traumatic brain injury (TBI), time is of the essence. The sooner treatment is provided, the better outcome there will be for the individual. This is particularly true in closed head injuries that have bleeding, since surgery may be necessary to relieve pressure placed on the brain.
How is a brain injury measured?
The brain injury itself is measured on the Glasgow Coma Scale. It rates three aspects of the brain’s function, including verbal responses, movement and eye opening. Those in the deepest comas have a Glasgow Coma Score of 3. Those with a 15 are fully conscious. Others range between those points depending on how able they are to respond.
What other factors do doctors consider?
Post-traumatic amnesia may also be used to determine the severity of a brain injury. It’s generally true that the longer the amnesia lasts, the more serious the brain injury is overall.
If you have a loved one who is struggling with amnesia, an aneurysm or other kind of brain injury, you’re not alone. If your loved one was hurt because of someone else’s negligence, you have a right to file a claim and seek compensation. He or she deserves the best care and the best chance to recover as fully as possible.
Source: Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center, “Understanding TBI: Part 1 – What happens to the brain during injury and the early stages of recovery from TBI?,” accessed Oct. 10, 2017