While many people are familiar with the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), most don’t have a detailed understanding of how it works.

In short, this is a scoring system used to detail the level of consciousness in a person after suffering a traumatic brain injury. Along with this, it’s often used by medical professionals to determine the severity of a brain injury.

There are many benefits of the Glasgow Coma Scale, including the fact that it is both reliable and simple to conduct. Furthermore, it goes a long way in helping people understand the outcome following this type of injury.

The Glasgow Coma Scale measures the following functions:

— Eye-opening

— Verbal response

— Motor response

Eye-opening, for example, is judged in one of four ways:

— 1: none

— 2: to pain

— 3: to voice

— 4: spontaneous

A doctor will use this scale to record the response that the patient makes. In the end, they’re left with a number that helps classify the injury:

— Severe: Glasgow Coma Scale score of 3 to 8

— Moderate: Glasgow Coma Scale score of 9 to 12

— Mild: Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13 to 15

As you can see, the lower the score the more severe the injury.

If a loved one is injured in an accident, you’ll want to speak with their medical team about his or her Glasgow Coma Scale. This will give you a better idea of the person’s current condition.

Also, don’t hesitate to learn more about the accident, as you may be able to receive compensation that can help pay for medical bills and other damages.

Source: Brainline.org, “What Is the Glasgow Coma Scale?,” accessed March 14, 2017