Your brain is a complex organ and what makes you different from other people. Therefore, it stands to reason that if you suffer a brain injury, it will be unique, even if someone else suffers a similar injury to the same part of the brain. The medical community has specific standards to classify brain injuries that are essential to understand after an accident.
Three Levels of Brain Injury Severity
Doctors will use a variety of tools to diagnose and classify your brain injury. These diagnostic tools include:
- The Glasgow Coma Scale to measure your ability to speak, open your eyes, and move
- Imaging tests such as CT scans and MRIs to assess the damage to your brain
- Cognition tests to assess your ability to think, reason, problem-solve, process information, and remember things
- Speech and language tests to evaluate the muscles that control your ability to talk as well as your understanding of grammar, vocabulary, reading, and writing
After gathering necessary information about your injury, doctors will determine if your brain injury is mild, moderate, or severe.
Mild Brain Injuries
Mild brain injuries mean that that the person:
- Never lost consciousness or lost consciousness for less than 30 minutes
- Never experienced memory loss or only had memory loss for less than 24 hours
- Had a high Glasgow Coma Score of 13-15
Often, imaging tests like CT scans and MRIs do not show any brain damage.
Symptoms of a mild brain injury include temporary headaches, dizziness, and confusion.
Many people with mild brain injuries make full recoveries. However, recoveries may take some time and may be complicated by previous brain injuries.
Moderate Brain Injuries
People with moderate brain injuries suffer:
- Loss of consciousness lasting from 30 minutes to 24 hours
- Memory loss lasting from 24 hours to seven days
- A Glasgow Coma Score of 9 -12
A moderate brain injury may cause long-lasting and permanent cognitive, physical, behavioral, and emotional changes.
Severe Brain injuries
Severe brain injuries mean that a person:
- Remained unconscious for 24 hours or longer
- Suffered memory loss for more than seven days
- Was assessed with a Glasgow Coma Score of 8 or lower
These types of brain injuries are catastrophic and sometimes fatal. The brain injury cannot be reversed and will not heal completely. The person suffering a severe brain injury usually does not return to the life they led prior to the accident.
The Path to a Brain Injury Recovery
Whether you suffered a mild, moderate, or severe brain injury, you may have the right to recover damages if someone else caused your injury. The amount of your compensation will depend on your unique injury, but the steps you take to get that recovery are the same.
Immediately after your accident, you should get medical attention. A doctor can diagnose your brain injury and recommend a course of treatment to help with your recovery. Prompt medical attention may also benefit your legal claim. Your medical records can help prove that the accident caused your brain injury and provide essential evidence about the damages you should recover.
After you get medical help, it is also critical to get legal help. An experienced Florida lawyer can investigate what happened to you, hold the right parties accountable, and value your case fairly. You may recover damages for past and future medical expenses, lost income, out-of-pocket costs, physical pain, and emotional suffering. The value of these damages is dependent on the unique injury that you suffer. Generally, people with severe brain injuries suffer more significant damages than people with mild brain injuries. However, anyone who suffers a brain injury in a Florida accident may get a personalized recovery based on their unique injuries.
Learn more about your Florida brain injury case by contacting attorney Coy H. Browning for a free, no-obligation consultation today.
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