California Coma Attorneys
Spinal Cord Injury: The Glasgow Coma Scale
Intensive care units and medical professionals use a number of scoring systems to rate the severity of diseases and injuries. The Glasgow Coma Scale is a scoring system specific to patients who are experiencing neurological symptoms, such as those caused by spinal cord and traumatic brain injury. This neurological scoring system's goal is to provide an analytical framework for understanding the severity of neurological systems that translates across applications and can be used for comparison in the future.
The Glasgow Coma Scale rates consciousness and neurological symptoms on a scale of 1 to 6, with 6 the least and 1 the most severe. The criteria for scores are as follows:
Motor Response:
No motor response = 1 point
Responds to pain with decerebate motion = 2 points
Flexes in response to pain = 3 points
Tries to withdraw from pain = 4 points
Tries to localize or prevent pain = 5 points
Obeys simple commands as asked = 6 points
Eye Response:
No eye opening = 1 point
Eyes open in response to painful stimuli = 2 points
Eyes open in response to speech = 3 points
Eyes open spontaneously = 4 points
Verbal response:
No verbal response = 1 point
Incomprehensible moaning or other sounds = 2 points
Random, inappropriate, or exclamatory speech, but no conversation = 3 points
Confusion and verbal disorientation = 4 points
Coherence and orientation = 5 points
To obtain a Glasgow Coma Score, practitioners consider each value separately and also look at a score that combines all three values. These combined values are split into categories of severity. "Severe" Glasgow Scores total 8 and under; "Moderate" 9 through 12, and "Minor" over 13. For example, a patient who tries to withdraw from pain (4 points), opens eyes in response to speech (3 points), and makes incomprehensible moaning sounds (2 points) would have a combined Glasgow Coma Score of 9, which fits in the "Moderate" category.
The Glasgow Score is just one way in which medical professionals assess a patient's condition and compare progress. It can also be useful to attorneys who wish to demonstrate a patient's progress and the severity of injury in court.
Van Der Walde & Associates is committed to helping trauma survivors fight back against the individuals whose negligence caused their injuries. Contact one of our skilled California spinal cord injury lawyers today for more information on whether you have a valid claim.
