California Brain Injuries & The Glasgow Coma Scale

When your loved one is severely injured, there are a lot of terms that are thrown your way that you and your family may not understand.  One of these medical terms is the Glasgow Coma Scale, which has to do with traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

If your loved one has sustained a head injury in a Southern California car accident or other catastrophic accident, you need to understand how medical professionals diagnose the symptoms of a TBI.  The Glasgow Coma Scale estimates and categorizes the outcomes of traumatic brain injury using a 15-point scale.  This measurement is based on the overall social capability or dependence on other people.

The eye opening response, verbal response and motor response are measured with the following values (according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention):

Eye Opening Response
4 points: Spontaneous--open with blinking at baseline
3 points: Eyes open to verbal stimuli, command, speech
2 points: Eyes open to pain only (not applied to face)
1 point: No response

Verbal Response
5 points: Alert and oriented
4 points: Confused conversation, but able to answer questions
3 points: Inappropriate words and jumbled phrases
2 points: Incomprehensible speech
1 point: No response

Motor Response
6 points: Obeys commands for movement
5 points: Purposeful movement to painful stimulus
4 points: Withdraws when feeling pain
3 points: Flexion in response to pain (decorticate posturing)
2 points: Extension response in response to pain
1 point: No response

At Steinberg & Spencer Injury Lawyers we represent brain injury victims throughout California. To find out how we can help you and your family, contact one of our California brain injury attorneys at (800) 989-6385.