Things Needed To Prove Mild Brain Injury | PersonalInjuryLawyer.com

The two things that are needed to prove a mild brain injury are:

a physician’s diagnosis of a mild brain injury and;
a corroborating CT scan result

The CT scan result is the gold standard for substantiating a physical diagnosis of a mild brain injury. Some emergency room physicians will also order an MRI of the injured person but the CT scan is the accepted test to evidence a brain trauma injury mild or severe. The CT scan is so generally accepted to prove a mild brain injury that if there was a head injury claim and no CT scan was ordered it may be empirical evidence that there was no actual head injury ever in truth reported to the emergency room physician or the injury was so minor in nature as to preclude further inquiry or testing.

CT Scan Gold Standard Evidence of Mild Head Trauma

A CT scan can detect skull fractures. Suspected basilar skull fractures which may be otherwise not visable will show on a CT scan. Hematomas, contusions and diffuse axonal injuries will also show on a CT scan. MRI may be used later to get additional information as to subtle contusions and diffuse axonal injury because it is more sensitive than a CT scan to detect very small or isodense subacute and isodense chronic subdural hematomas. Angiography may be used when vascular injury is suspected or when CT scan findings are inconsistent with physical examination findings. Many mild brain injury patients will be sent home with family monitoring. If the injured person develops decreased levels of consciousness, focal neurological deficits, worsening headache, vomiting or deterioration of mental function the patient should immediately be returned to the emergency room for treatment. Doctors noting even minimal abnormalities on a CT scan will admit the person to hospital and refuse to allow them to go home. In that situation the patient will be monitored by hospital staff for any changes and a follow up CT scan will be taken.

Getting Legal Help

If you or a member of your family suffered a mild brain injury due an automobile accident, a bicycle accident, fall, assault, attack or sports injury it may be helpful to discuss the circumstances of the accident or attack and the resulting head injury with a personal injury lawyer. An attorney can provide helpful advice and guidance concerning legal action that might be taken to recover monetary and personal losses incurred due to the head injury incident.

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