Why You Need a Team of Medical Specialists
When a patient with multiple injuries is rushed to an emergency room, doctors first focus on keeping him or her alive. Is the patient breathing normally? Is the heart pumping? Is there any significant loss of blood? Once the patient is stabilized and life-threatening injuries are diagnosed and treated, doctors begin the process of evaluating the effects of a brain injury.
The Glasgow Coma Scale
Emergency room physicians or neurologists will assess the patient's degree of consciousness and ability to open his or her eyes, speak and respond to speech, move parts of the body and respond to simple commands and questions using a test called the Glasgow Coma Scale.
Imaging tests are usually ordered to determine if surgery is needed to relieve pressure or extract bone fragments from the brain. While these tests can reveal skull fractures and subdural hematomas, the full effects of a brain injury do not show up on diagnostic tests like MRIs or CT scans. Even neuropsychological testing cannot identify all deficits associated with a brain injury.
That is why every member of a brain injury rehabilitation team is so important.
Who Treats Brain Injuries?
According to the Brain Injury Association of America, the rehabilitation team may include:
- Patient and patient's family
- General practitioner
- Rehabilitation medicine physician
- Rehabilitation nurse
- Allied health professionals: physiotherapist, occupational therapist, speech pathologist, social worker
- Neuropsychologist, clinical psychologist
- Vocational rehabilitation services and counselors
- Other medical specialties: neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery
The attorneys of Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP, can assist clients with brain injuries to find respected experts in brain injury rehabilitation.
The medical bills and rehabilitation expenses in a brain injury claim can be staggering. That is why it is important to select an experienced law firm with a proven record of success in brain injury litigation.
Contact the personal injury lawyers of Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP, to discuss your case. We represent clients in the Los Angeles area and throughout Southern California, as well as the state. We also advise attorneys and client across the United States.
