Advances in current technologies have improved diagnosis and treatment of TBI’s that have lowered the death toll and overly improved your prospects for recovery. New techniques in imaging systems such as CT scans, MRI scans, DTI scans, Pet scans, and X-rays are providing greater resolution and allowing physicians to provide better interpretations and do so quickly. Your treatment may include medications or emergency surgery initially followed by physical therapy, speech therapy, or occupational therapy for proper rehabilitation. Brain injuries are generally classified into mild, moderate, and severe types. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is the most commonly used system for classifying TBI severity. GCS is a scale that grades an individual’s level of consciousness on a scale of 3-15 that is based on your verbal, motor skills as well as your eye-opening reactions to various stimuli. Scale interpretation is listed below: A GSC number of 13 or above is considered mild damage A GSC number of 9-12 is considered moderate damage A GSC number of 8 or below is considered severe damage The GSC number is limited in predicting outcomes. Therefore, other systems are used in conjunction with the GSC number that provides more information. These include the time length of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) and loss of consciousness (LOC). The PTA and LOC times are listed below for mild, moderate, and severe brain damage. Mild brain damage tends to occur with post-traumatic amnesia that lasts for less than a day and a loss of consciousness for 30 minutes or less Moderate brain damage has a post-traumatic amnesia for 1 to 6 days and a loss of consciousness between 30 minutes and 24 hours Severe brain damage has a post-traumatic amnesia greater than 7 days and a loss of consciousness greater than 24 hours The GSC scale, post-traumatic amnesia times, and loss of consciousness times are used along with any scans that have been taken to provide a more complete picture of brain injury. It is important that you get documented proof of your diagnosis as this will provide evidence for a legal settlement.