After a car accident, you want to account for all your injuries. If you think you suffered a traumatic brain injury, you deserve to understand how doctors diagnose it.
The National Institutes of Health explores various diagnostic methods for brain injuries. Learn which tests to ask your doctor about for a full account of the harm you endured because of another’s negligence.
Glasgow Coma Scale
With the Glasgow Coma Scale, your physician uses three methods to measure your functioning. Your ability to move includes how well you move your limbs and keep them still. Measuring ability to speak accounts for whether you speak normally, your ability to speak and if your words make sense. Your ability to open your eyes includes whether you open or close your eyes when your doctor asks you.
After your doctor rates your responses, she or he scores them. The higher the score, the less severe your brain injury.
Imaging tests
Examples of imaging tests medical professionals use to diagnose TBI include magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography scans. MRIs combine radio waves and magnets to create high-definition images of your brain. CT scans use various X-rays to assemble a picture of your brain.
Blood test
A physician may use a blood test to detect special proteins the brain releases in the presence of a mild concussion. Some patients have brain injuries that do not appear on imaging tests.
The right test may help build your personal injury case against the at-fault party. When you know whether you have a brain injury and the severity of your injury, you and your legal representative know how to build your claim.
