Brain Injury »  Closed Head Injury Lawyer

The presentation of the damages that flow from closed head injury trauma require the trial advocate to gain a sophisticated understanding of the anatomy of the brain and surrounding anatomy, as well as an understanding of the manner in which closed head injury manifests itself through changes in behavior and function.

What separates us from other forms of life and makes us human is the capacity to use the mind, to reason, remember, process and structure information. Closed head trauma impairs to various degrees our capability to function on all such levels. It is a devastating injury which manifests itself in life changes which are experienced by the victim's family, friends, co-workers and community, as well as by the victim.

The practitioner must be familiar with the anatomy, psychology, and biomechanics of closed head injury. An excellent, current and in-depth single source resource for this purpose is Litigating Head Trauma Cases, by Arthur C. Roberts, M.D., Wiley Law Publications, John Wiley & Sons. There are numerous other effective source materials which also provide background source material to enable the practitioner to obtain a thorough understanding of the medicine and the dynamics of closed head injury trauma.

Laying The Foundation For Closed Head Injury Through A Simplified Model Of The Biomechanics Of Closed Head Injury

It is necessary to orient the lay jury into the gross and microscopic anatomy of the brain, the surrounding structures and the brain itself to give a lay jury an understanding of how the trauma involved in a closed head injury case has resulted in the psychological behavior changes manifested by the plaintiff. The use of medical illustrations which depict both the anatomy of the skull, brain and the mechanism of closed head injury are invaluable.

If you have received a closed head injury and are in need of a New York personal injury attorney, contact the New York personal injury attorneys at Frekhtman and Associates for a free personal injury attorney consultation.

Closed Head Injury: Establishing Loss Through Demonstrative Evidence Of Life Changes

One of the difficulties of prosecuting a "minor" closed head injury claim is the absence of traditional, objective, medical evidence of injury. Frequently in rear-end impacts or other types of acceleration/deceleration trauma, there is a brief loss of consciousness, which may or may not be recalled by the claimant. It is not uncommon for the traditional diagnostic tests to be within normal limits.

This is particularly true where there is no evidence of impact, no skull fracture and any intercranial bleeding or lesions. In this scenario, the x-ray of the cranium will be within normal limits showing no fracture, a CAT scan will show no evidence of intercranial bleeding or lesion, and an MRI scan will likewise be within normal limits.

Documentary Evidence-Closed Head Injury Life Changes

In the absence of positive findings on the traditional diagnostic procedures such as x-ray, CAT scan, MRI, or the more obvious signs of trauma such as bleeding or laceration, objective evidence of severe injury may be manifested in documentary evidence of life changes. The obvious examples would be:

1. Employment Records

A complete employment file with particular reference n performance reviews, pre and post trauma. Additional focus on the employment records as they reflect unscheduled absences, sick days or other references to the failure to meet deadlines.

2. School Records and Transcripts

Complete transcripts from all education institutions. Of particular significance is the reference to any standardized tests and the scoring on the same, both pre and post trauma.

Caveat: Little, if any, variation in IQ scores in "traditional" IQ scores, pre and post trauma is of little, if any, significance in demonstrating the presence or absence of closed head injury.

Of particular significance in the transcripts are references to honors courses or extra curricular activities, evidencing particular personality or intellectual strengths. A possible example would be an honors course in mathematics, evidencing a high acuity in mathematics pre-accident, contrasted with the failure to be able to balance a checkbook post-accident. Another example would be high scores in English, contrasted with a post-accident inability to draft a coherent paragraph.

The educational records can also be a rich source of possible witnesses in the form of professors and/or administrators who had personal knowledge of the demonstrated high intellectual capacity of the plaintiff prior to trauma. The devastating impact of the loss of these demonstrated abilities can be artfully reflected in the post-trauma testimony of plaintiff's co-workers and superiors.


New York Closed Head Injury Attorneys - Frekhtman Associates represent victims of brain injury. Call us at (855) BRAIN-LAW for a free legal consultation.

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