How To Prove Pain and Suffering From Memory Loss

It is a startling statistic that more than one million traumatic brain injuries (TBI) occur every year in this country, with as much as ten percent of them causing severe disability, including memory loss, inability to concentrate, depression, and more. However, these consequences are difficult to diagnose, difficult to pinpoint the cause, and difficult to prove in order to receive compensation if they were caused by the negligence of someone else.

TBIs Defined

When the head suffers severe trauma, the brain is either immediately damaged from the trauma, or temporarily damaged from the swelling that results. TBIs may be caused by traffic accidents, assault, slip and fall accidents, or medical malpractice. Any of those accidents are actionable if there is sufficient proof of negligence by another person and that the symptom did not exist before the event.

Some of the symptoms to watch for include:

Depression
Irritability
Memory loss
Faulty judgment
Excessive sleepiness
Difficulty concentrating
Inattention
Slowed thinking

Medical Experts

The best way, and often the only way, to prove that someone suffered a TBI is to call upon a medical expert to examine the victim and diagnose the problem. In cases of medical malpractice, this can be even more vital. A medical expert must fulfill certain requirement in order for the court to accept their testimony. In addition, many states require that they file a “certificate of merit” explaining the injury and its validity before the court will hear the claim at all. Particularly in a medical malpractice claim, a medical expert must

Show whether or not the attending physician demonstrated the level of care expected of other doctors in the same field and under the same or similar conditions.
When a physician failed to show the required standard of care, whether their negligence caused injury to the patient

Medical experts are generally required to be regularly practicing physicians in the field in which the injury occurred. They cannot be a professional witness who only testifies in liability lawsuits. However, there may be some cases in which a medical expert is not required. That occurs when there is no other explanation for the injury to a patient than that the physician was negligent. This is a doctrine called res ipsa loquitur, or “the thing speaks for itself.”

Get Legal Help with Proving Pain and Suffering

No one can know the full measure of pain and suffering that another individual suffers. However, medical experts who have years of experience in the field know more than anyone else. Those who believe they have a claim for pain and suffering due to memory loss for any reason should consult an experienced medical malpractice attorney. They understand much of what a victim is going through, and they know how to enlist experts who can identify and testify about those consequences, in order to convince a court or jury of the victim’s right to compensation.

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