While a mild TBI can range from almost undetectable symptoms to a significant concussion, a severe TBI is considerably easier to diagnose. Severe TBI involves either a loss of consciousness lasting more than a half-hour accompanied by at least some memory loss after the injury, or an injury that penetrates the skull and injures the brain. Severe TBIs can impair high-order brain functions or physical functions, or even result in long-lasting comatose states. In fact, more than 150 people die each day as a result of TBIs.
Severe TBIs, depending upon how bad the injury is, can cause emotional problems, lasting loss of memory, an inability to concentrate or think through complicated issues, speech impairment, paralysis, coma, or even death. Even if the injury is not fatal, conditions arising from severe TBIs often require years of treatment or even life-long medical care, which can be extremely costly in the short term and add up to millions of dollars over a lifetime.
