How Does The Glasgow Coma Scale Work? Richmond TBI Attorney

What Do the Numbers in the Glasgow Coma Scale Represent?

The Test Is Organized Into Three Parts

Eye-opening

Verbal Response

Motor Response

A patient can rank from 1 to 4 points in the level of their eye-opening, from 1 to 5 points in the level of their verbal responses, and from 1 to 6 points in their level of motor responsiveness. For example, if a person's eyes are closed, they would get a score of 1 in the eye-opening category. If they could not provide any verbal response to prompts, they would get a 1 for the verbal response category. And if they had no motor response whatsoever, they would get a 1 in that category.

A person with these scores would receive a score of 3, and would be considered to have a severe TBI. By contrast, if a person's eyes open spontaneously, they are entirely oriented, and they can obey commands, they get scores of 4, 5, and 6, respectively, which totals 15. Does this mean they did not suffer a mild TBI (or concussion)? No, it does not. It just means that at the time the EMT or other medical professional administered the test, the person exhibited signs consistent with a TBI in the "mild" category.

What Significance Does the Glasgow Coma Scale Scores Have in a Brain Injury?

In our experience, survivors of mild traumatic brain injury, or concussion, will typically have a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) reading of 15 in their medical records from the date of the accident. The reason for that is pretty simple. A concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury ("mTBI"), is characterized by just a brief, or momentary loss of consciousness, alteration of mental state, or feeling of being "dazed." If the patient lost consciousness for some period of time, it is unusual for there to be a third-party witness available who saw the person in an unconscious state who can testify to that fact.

By the time a medical professional, such as an EMT, gets to the scene of an accident and administers the GCS test, the person is awake, alert, and is often oriented to time, place, and person. They can walk, respond to commands, and their eyes are open. This is not at all unusual, even in patients who suffered a concussion in an accident. And in those situations, the GCS score will always be 15.

Does that mean the person did not have a concussion? No, it does not. It just means that, at the time the GCS test was administered, the person had a score of 15. That is all. Later on, when the person goes to the emergency room at the hospital, it is not uncommon for another GCS reading to be taken. And, once again, it is to be expected that the score will be 15 in a mild traumatic brain injury patient. And that is what it invariably is. Importantly, the Glasgow Coma Scale is useless in ruling out the presence of a mild traumatic injury in a patient.

Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney Can Help You Today

Although the GCS is not useful in cases involving mild traumatic brain injury, defendants always point to the GCS reading of 15 as evidence of there having been no brain injury. For that reason, a lawyer who represents traumatic brain injury survivors must be prepared to offer testimony from their own medical experts who can explain that the GCS does not rule out the presence of a mild traumatic brain injury, and to help the jury understand what the GCS is, and is not.

Have You Or A Loved One Suffered A Traumatic Brain Injury In Virginia?

If you believe you or a loved one suffered a TBI, an experienced traumatic brain injury lawyer can help you focus on recovery instead of fighting a complex battle against an insurance company and the people who caused the injury.

The passion of The Mottley Law Firm is protecting the legal rights of clients who have suffered life-disrupting brain injuries. No matter where you are in Virginia, we want to hear from you. Contact us online or call our Richmond office at (804) 409-0876 to schedule your free consultation.

We welcome clients throughout Virginia, including the communities of Bon Air, Glen Allen, Highland Springs, Laurel, Mechanicsville, Short Pump, and Tuckahoe.

We also have the ability to handle personal injury cases across the United States with appropriate local counsel admitted in the jurisdiction. Schedule your confidential consultation today.

A Unique Focus On Traumatic Brain Injuries

My focus on representing TBI survivors is also unique. Most personal injury lawyers cast a very large net. They pursue, and will gladly accept, any case (large or small) that falls under the general “personal injury” heading. You can spot these practices by looking at their websites and clicking on the “practice areas” drop-down list. What you will see are many practice areas, only one of which will be “traumatic brain injury.” Think of these firms as the Wal-Mart Supercenters of the personal injury lawyer world. Wal-Mart has at least one of everything. The same can be said of most personal injury firms. They handle everything.

Nothing is wrong with such retail personal injury practices. My point is not to criticize that “generalist” approach to personal injury law. My point is simply to illustrate that my practice is different, just like a small nursery selling 20 different types of specialty garden hoses is different than a Wal-Mart selling one type of garden hose. Just like the nursery, I focus on one type of personal injury case – the traumatic brain injury case – and one type of client – the traumatic brain injury survivor.

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What is the Glasgow Coma Scale?