"It could be the inverter, backlight, or the LCD panel itself.
Backlight failure is usually hinted at by a pink hue to everything.
Inverter failure usually results in the dimming of images on the screen to the point where the backlight is not even on (the inverter provides power to the backlight)
This sounds more like it is a failure in the LCD panel itself, though it could just as easily be a loose data cable connected to the back of the LCD. If you're feeling adventurous and you laptop is out of warranty, you can take the LCD out of the bezel and reconnect everything, checking for loose cables along the way. It's really not that hard, and what do you have to lose? Either you pay to have it replaced, you fix it yourself, or you break it trying to fix it yourself, but you probably would have to get it replaced anyway."
I'm not sure what causes the problem but it's quite common on laptops, I suspect it's something to do with the way the screen flexes when it's opened and closed since I've never seen it on a desktop flat screen. Whenever I've reported the fault to a laptop manufacturer they have always swapped the screen out (under warranty) so I expect that's what you'll have to do.
