In a heartbeat. When some strange person sucker-punches you to the ground and then gets on top of you and starts banging your head into concrete, your only assumption can be that he means to either kill you or do you serious bodily harm. You don't have time to intellectualize over the finer points.
I'm reminded about a joke involving a girl named Mary Ann. It seems that Mary Ann was walking down the street one night when a big black dude came jumping out of the shadows and started ripping her clothes off. She wasn't worried. She knew she had left her wallet at home.
...”In a heartbeat. When some strange person sucker-punches you to the ground and then gets on top of you and starts banging your head into concrete, your only assumption can be that he means to either kill you or do you serious bodily harm. You don’t have time to intellectualize over the finer points”...
Example of head injury from the Mayo Clinic:
“By Mayo Clinic staff
Traumatic brain injury is caused by a blow or other traumatic injury to the head or body. The degree of damage can depend on several factors, including the nature of the event and the force of impact. Injury may include one or more of the following factors:
Damage to brain cells may be limited to the area directly below the point of impact on the skull.
A severe blow or jolt can cause multiple points of damage because the brain may move back and forth in the skull.
A severe rotational or spinning jolt can cause the tearing of cellular structures.
A blast, as from an explosive device, can cause widespread damage.
An object penetrating the skull can cause severe, irreparable damage to brain cells, blood vessels and protective tissues around the brain.
Bleeding in or around the brain, swelling, and blood clots can disrupt the oxygen supply to the brain and cause wider damage.”
And, of course, you can also die from head injury. I cannot see how anyone knocked to the ground by a large stranger who begins to pound that person’s head on the sidewalk would not feel in mortal danger. They do not call guns “the great equalizer” for nothing.