Comatose Causes

Someone is considered comatose if they experience a state of prolonged and profound unconsciousness in which the victim cannot interact with his or her environment, usually resulting from disease or injury. A comatose person breathes and sleeps like any other person, except he or she is unable to wake from this state, even by means of stimulation, including pain.

Comas are generally caused by brain injuries. Increased pressure or bleeding, toxin buildup, or lack or loss of oxygen to the brain can cause brain injury. More than half of comatose cases relate to head trauma or other disorders in the brain’s circulatory system.

Causes of Brain Injury and Comatose

Some of the most common cases of brain injury and comatose in victims include:

• Trauma: When a head injury occurs, the brain can bleed and swell. Fluids press on the skull and the pressure can cause the brain to force down on the brain stem, resulting in damage to the part of the brain responsible for consciousness and arousal.
• Stroke: Low or no blood flow to the brain stem along with swelling can result in coma.
• Blood Sugar: Blood sugars, whether too low or too high, can lead to a coma.
• Low Oxygen Levels: Cardiac arrest can keep blood and oxygen from going to the brain.
• Infection: If the central nervous system becomes infected with encephalitis or meningitis, a coma can occur.
• Toxins: Drugs, alcohol, and carbon dioxide as a result from an asthma attack can accumulate to highly toxic levels, disrupting the brain’s normal functions.
• Reoccurring seizures: It is difficult for the brain to recover from seizures if they occur frequently.

Contact Us

If you or someone you know has suffered a coma because of injury inflicted by another, contact the Las Vegas head injury lawyers of William Palmer & Associates, P.C. today at 702-888-2222.