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What is the Glasgow Coma Scale?

Surviving a serious car accident in Georgia often does not signal the end of one’s ordeal. If you have a family member or friend who emerges from such an incident with a traumatic brain injury, then they might be looking at an extensive recuperative period ahead of them (possibly one that lasts for the remainder of their lives).

You likely will want to know exactly what sort of recovery you and others might expect from your loved one (as such knowledge will likely influence your decision-making as to the management of their care). Some might tell you that is impossible in the immediate aftermath of their injury, yet that may not be the case.

Expectations based on clinical observations

Caretakers employ a clinical observation test known as the Glasgow Coma Scale when determining the extent of a TBI. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the specific areas observed are:

         Motor skills

         Verbal responses

         Eye movement

Your loved one receives a score based on their performance in each of the aforementioned categories. Those individual scores are then summed to come up with a final GCS score. A score between 13-15 indicates a mild brain injury, nine to 12 a moderate one, and eight or below a severe brain injury.

Determining the road ahead

It may go without saying that an extensive brain injury will typically require a longer recovery period (indeed, severe TBI victims often require round-the-clock care for their entire lives). Yet victims of mild or moderate TBIs might face an extensive recuperative process, as well. The physical and cognitive deficits their injuries leave them with may necessitate costly treatments, not to mention impacting their ability to adequately return to work in order to support themselves.

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