California Traumatic Brain Injury Law Firm
When a person suffers an injury to the brain causing unconsciousness for a long period of time—days to months—they are said to have a severe brain injury.
Coma
A coma is defined as a prolonged unconscious state where the individual cannot be woken. The individual may respond minimally to stimuli or may have no response to stimuli. They do not initiate any voluntary activities.
- The coma can occur as part of the natural recovery from a severe brain injury.
- The coma’s length is impossible to predict. Comas may last from as short as a few days to weeks, months or even longer.
- While in a coma, patients can show progress and exhibit different levels of consciousness.
- Oftentimes, patients with severe brain trauma who do experience coma may make noteworthy progress but more than not are left with permanent physical, cognitive or behavioral impairments.
- Physicians have no tests to determine when or if a person will come out of a coma.
- Physicians have are not able to provide treatment specifically to make a person come out of a coma.
- It is important to evaluate a person who is comatose to see if they respond in some manner or if they are not responding at all to the environment around them.
- Persons in a coma may seem to “asleep” because they are unable to be woken or alerted.
- Many times while in a deep coma, a person is unable to move at all, even to painful stimuli. The coma patient may also be unable to make any voluntary actions or exhibit any meaningful responses.
- Comatose patients are unable to talk to others.
There is documentation from patients who have emerged from comas that they remember other’s conversation. It is suggested that others should speak to comatose patients in a regular tone of voice.