Brain Injury Legal Cases

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In researching the admissibility of Diffusion Tensor Imaging, I came upon a Louisiana court decision upholding the use of Diffusion Tensor Imaging. Andrew v. Patterson Motor Freight, Inc., Civil Action No. 6:13cv814 (U.S.D.C., W.D. 2014).

Plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle crash and was diagnosed as having sustained a traumatic brain injury to the frontal lobe resulting in residual deficits in the areas of emotion, impulsivity, personality, and short term memory. Plaintiff retained Dr. Eduardo Gonzalez-Toledo who administered Diffusion Tensor Imaging, which according to Dr. Gonzalez-Toledo demonstrated evidence of traumatic brain injury pathology.

Defendants moved to bar Dr. Gonzalez-Toledo, a neuro-radiologist, arguing that Diffusion Tensor Imaging was not widely accepted for the diagnosis of traumatic brain injury. In support of their argument, defendants relied upon a single article entitled “Guidelines for the Ethical Use of Neuroimages in Medical Testimony.”

The Court found:…

Continue Reading Federal Court in Louisiana Admits DTI into Evidence

People, who have sustained a permanent injury which results in a permanent work disability, will earn less and will have a shortened work life expectancy, even where the individual has returned to full time employment.  Thus, in every case, where a plaintiff has sustained a permanent injury resulting in a permanent work disability, a claim…

A recent decision by the Supreme Court – State of New York, Nassau County, Part 40 rejected a motion by defendants to preclude the plaintiffs from presenting evidence regarding diffusion tensor imaging in support of their claim that the infant plaintiff suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a traumatic incident.  Sullivan v. …

The Association for Scientific Advancement in Psychological Injury in the Law has published an official position regarding psychological assessment of symptom and performance validity, response bias, and malingering. Psychol. Inj. And Law (214) 7:197-205.  Bush, SS, Heilbronner and Ruff RM.  According to the abstract, the “purpose of this position statement is to promote ethical psychological…

Recently, there have been a number of articles addressing efficacy of bike helmets and their ability or inability to prevent concussions and more serious traumatic brain injuries. Bicycling Magazine featured an article entitled “Senseless” stating “bicycling helmets do an outstanding job of keeping our skulls intact in a major crash. When they do almost nothing to prevent concussions and other significant brain injuries – and the very government agency created to protect us is part of the problem. The time has come to demand something safer.” The article was written by Bruce Barcott.
Continue Reading Recent Articles about Bicycle Helmets and Traumatic Brain Injury

In the May 23, 2013 issue of Brain Injury, David E. Ross, et al. submitted a Letter to the Editor entitled “Brain MRI volumetry in a single patient with mild traumatic brain injury.” The report described the case of a 42 year old man who was in a motor vehicle accident in May 2008, leading to a mild traumatic brain injury and other injuries. His MRI brain data were analyzed with Neuro Quant (a FDA‑approved computer‑automated method for measuring MRI brain volume) and susceptibility‑weighted imaging (SWI) to assess for signs of old bleeding.
Continue Reading NeuroQant Volumetric In Single Patient With Mild TBI

Neuro law attorneys are very familiar with the meta-analytic review of neurological studies that was authored by Binder, Rohling and Larrabee (Binder 1997). It is a study that is often cited by defense attorneys to support the myth that recovery after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) occurs within the first three months, with any subsequent changes in performance being of limited statistical and clinical significance.
Continue Reading Binder, Rohling and Larrabee Meta-Analytic Review Criticized Again

The February 2013 issue of Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology included an interesting article out of Cape Town, South Africa, wherein researchers from the University of Cape Town examined the extent to which, during the process of litigation, individuals with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury might malinger in their performance on neuropsychological assessment batteries.
Continue Reading Neuropsychological, Functional and Behavioral Outcome in South African Traumatic Brain Injury Litigants