If you suffer a blow to the head, you may end up with a traumatic brain injury. Depending on how hard you hit your head (from an car accident or a slip and fall accident), you may have any number of symptoms ranging from a headache to complete unconsciousness.In order to diagnose a persons head injury accurately, a number of tests or exams need to be performed by a doctor to make sure the right course of action is taken. When it comes to brain injuries, its important to never try to diagnose yourself.Doctors and hospitals have the best equipment and knowledge to make sure a blow to the head doesnt lead to a worse traumatic brain injury. Scans like magnetic resonance images (MRIs) or tomography scans (CT or SPECT) help diagnose brain injuries along with other tests, namely like the Glascow Coma Scale.

What is the Glascow Coma Scale?

In 1974, Graham Teasdale and Bryan J. Jennett, neurosurgery professors at the University of Glascow (Scotland) came up with this scale with the purpose of providing an objective and reliable way of gauging the conscious state of a person with a head injury. The patients results are correlated against a grading scale, and the results give doctors a good indication about the severity of a traumatic brain injury.The scale has three different tests: eye, verbal and motor. Each function has a separate numbered scale that ranges from one to six (one being the most severe and six being the mildest). Those three numbers are then combined for a final grade.There are four grades of eye response:
  1. Eyes dont open
  2. Eyes respond as a result of pain
  3. Speech causes eyes to open
  4. Eyes operate on their own
There are five grades of verbal response:
  1. No verbal response at all
  2. Sounds moans, but not necessarily words
  3. Inappropriate words
  4. Patient responds to questions, but with some confusion
  5. Patient responds to questions coherently and appropriately
There are six grades of motor response:
  1. No motor response
  2. Extension to pain
  3. Abnormal flexion to pain
  4. Withdrawal to pain
  5. Localizes to pain
  6. Obeys commands
Individual elements of the test and the sum of the tests are important. Generally, brain injuries are classified as severe when the GCS is less than or equal to eight, moderate when the GCS is between nine and 12 and minor when the GCS is greater than or equal to 13.Tests like the Glascow Coma Scale make it easier to identify how bad a traumatic brain injury is so the right amount of care is taken to ensure you get back to normal health.

Call us now to Maximize your Brain Injury Settlement

Since 1992, the brain injury lawyers at the Pines Salomon Injury Lawyers, LLP. in San Diego have been helping people just like you deal with a personal injury claim if you have physical and emotional damages as a result of a traumatic brain injury. We know that the legal process can at times be very confusing, but our experience can help guide you through the process.Dont worry about fighting insurance companies. Our experienced brain injury attorneys in San Diego are here to help you recover the maximum personal injury settlement with the least amount of stress.If you or a loved one has symptoms of a traumatic brain injury, we urge you to contact our bilingual offices in San Diego as soon as possible following the cause at 1-858-551-2090 or please click here for a FREE consultation with an experienced brain injury attorney. We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you owe nothing until we recover money on your behalf.