In the context of brain injuries, coma is a profound, inalterable unconsciousness resulting from trauma. Medical professionals use a test called the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) to evaluate the degree and severity of a patient's coma.
The GCS, developed in 1974, measures three aspects of a patient's mental condition: eye response, verbal response, and motor response. For each category, the patient's performance is graded on a scale; there are four points available for eye response, five for verbal, and six for motor. The higher the score, the less severe the coma. Generally, a score at or below 8 is considered severe, while a score at or above 13 is considered minor. The test allows doctors to gauge a patient's recovery over time.
Generally, the severity of a person's coma is depends on the severity of the underlying injury, the cause of the injury, and the location of the injury. While comas rarely last more than two to four weeks, that does not mean that all comatose patients emerge from their coma in that time period. Sadly, many patients will slip into a persistent vegetative state. In such a condition, the patient has lost his or her thinking abilities and awareness of his or her surroundings. In a persistent vegetative state, individuals may sometimes appear to spontaneously move or react. Still, their prognosis is bleak, and they need continual care to avoid such disorders as pneumonia, which can be deadly to a person in a persistent vegetative state. Caretakers are also needed to provide physical therapy, which can help prevent “contractures,” or permanent muscle contractions. When a person does recover from a coma or a persistent vegetative state, he or she may emerge with permanent physical, intellectual, and psychological problems (for more information about brain injury rehabilitation, click here ).
Our attorneys have represented many clients (and their families) when a negligently caused injury causes a persistent vegetative state. Such clients need continuous life care. Our attorneys structure settlement to provide for the cost of ongoing medical and attending care.
If you or a loved one have responsibility to care for a person in a persistent vegetative state caused by negligence, call or email us today.
