TBI Severity Levels Explained 2025: Mild, Moderate, and Severe Brain Injury Claims

## Why Severity Classification Drives a Brain Injury Claim

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) ranges from a concussion that resolves in weeks to a devastating injury that requires lifetime care. Insurers and juries treat these very differently, so understanding how doctors classify severity is essential to valuing a claim correctly. The classification also determines what evidence you need, because mild and severe TBI are proven in completely different ways.

The Three Severity Levels

Doctors grade TBI using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), a fifteen-point measure of eye, verbal, and motor response taken at the scene or in the emergency room:

1. **Mild TBI (GCS 13-15).** Includes most concussions. The person may lose consciousness briefly or not at all. Symptoms include headaches, dizziness, memory trouble, and mood changes. Imaging often looks normal.
2. **Moderate TBI (GCS 9-12).** Loss of consciousness from minutes to hours, confusion lasting days, and often visible damage on CT or MRI scans.
3. **Severe TBI (GCS 3-8).** Prolonged unconsciousness or coma, major cognitive and physical deficits, and frequently a need for lifetime care.

The Problem With Mild TBI

The most contested claims involve mild TBI, because the injury is real but the scans look normal. Insurers argue that a clean CT means no injury. The truth is that standard imaging cannot detect the microscopic axonal damage that causes persistent symptoms. To prove a mild TBI, lawyers rely on:

• **Neuropsychological testing** that measures memory, processing speed, and executive function against baseline norms.
• **Advanced imaging** such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) that can reveal white-matter damage.
• **Before-and-after witnesses.** Family, coworkers, and teachers who describe the person's changed behavior.
• **A symptom journal** documenting headaches, light sensitivity, and cognitive fog over time.

Moderate and Severe TBI Evidence

For moderate and severe injuries, the evidence is more visible but the costs are far higher. Cases require:

1. CT and MRI showing bleeding, swelling, or contusion.
2. Records of rehabilitation, including physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
3. A life-care plan projecting decades of care.
4. Vocational analysis showing lost earning capacity.

How Severity Affects Settlement Value

A mild TBI that resolves within months may settle for 25,000 to 150,000 dollars. A mild TBI with permanent cognitive symptoms can reach 250,000 to 500,000 dollars or more. Moderate TBI cases often range from 500,000 to 2 million dollars. Severe TBI requiring lifetime care regularly exceeds 5 million dollars and can reach far higher with full attendant care.

Steps to Build a TBI Claim

Step one: get evaluated immediately, even for a mild blow. Early documentation defeats the insurer's argument that symptoms are unrelated.

Step two: request neuropsychological testing. This is the gold standard for proving cognitive harm.

Step three: keep a daily symptom journal. Contemporaneous records carry more weight than later recollection.

Step four: gather lay witness statements about how you have changed.

Step five: do not settle while symptoms are evolving. Cognitive injuries can worsen, and early settlement forecloses future recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions

My CT scan was normal. Do I still have a case? Yes. Normal imaging does not rule out a mild TBI. Neuropsychological testing and advanced imaging can prove the injury.

How long do TBI symptoms last? Many concussions resolve in weeks, but a significant minority cause permanent symptoms, which raises the claim's value.

Why does the GCS number matter so much? It is the standard medical measure of severity that doctors, insurers, and juries all recognize.