Traumatic Brain Injury (“TBI”) is rarely diagnosed immediately after an accident or traumatic event. Most cases of TBI are originally diagnosed as “post-concussion syndrome.” Sometimes, there is no diagnosis at all and the patient is made to feel that there is nothing really wrong with him or her.

In the classic post concussive syndrome, the patient will initially have lost consciousness or not remember certain things either before, during or immediately after the accident (“amnesic gaps”). Patients often feel nausea, dizziness, headache or fatigue on the day of the incident, or in the days immediately following. Some patients experience ringing in the ears (tinnitus) or become sensitive to light (photophobia). Patients often experience impaired memory and concentration as they attempt to return to normal activities. Also, a patient’s temperament may change as a result of TBI – victims of TBI are often more prone to outbursts and a loss of temper that seem uncharacteristic.

As these symptoms linger, the diagnosis can change to TBI if experienced health care professionals are involved. Unfortunately, TBI cannot be accurately identified and diagnosed by those inexperienced in handling TBI patients. Therefore, it is critically important that a TBI victim be treated by those aware of the symptoms of TBI.

To complicate matters, the victim often does not appear injured and most victims of TBI have normal CT scans and MRIs of the brain. In fact, 85% of TBI sufferers do not have abnormal CT scans or MRIs. The reason for this is due to the nature of TBI: it generally results in neither dead brain cells, nor pools of blood on the brain called hematomas. Rather, the nerve endings of the cells are disrupted resulting in a cell that looks healthy, but its “wire” has been cut leaving it unable to transmit and receive the proper messages.

Once TBI is suspected, it is important to have neuropsychological testing. Full neuropsychological testing (otherwise known as IQ testing) runs approximately eight hours and is often performed over a two-day period. Such testing reveals specific areas of deficit and serves as a strong diagnostic tool for TBI.

The incidence of TBI in this country is about 1 new case per 500 people annually! Approximately 10 percent of these cases are classified as severe.  The others, often considered "mild TBI," produce anything but "mild" effects on the accident victim -- "mild" TBI victims suffer symptoms severe enough to disrupt memory, mood, and basic cognitive functioning.  The general feeling is that a TBI victim is a "different person" than before the injury and depression often follows.

TBI devastates the victim and his or her family and friends. TBI often leaves the victim depressed and feeling like his or her mind is operating in quicksand. Simple things like remembering a name or doing the laundry become monumental and exhausting tasks. The victim is often exhausted even though he or she has not done much. Frustration sets in because easy tasks grow difficult. Often the victim has significant mood swings and wishes to withdraw socially.

The lawyer can make all the difference in obtaining the best results, especially in a complicated area such as TBI. At Baker & Abraham, we have extensive experience in dealing with brain injury victims. A review of our Case Results reveals that the top three results (and six out of ten) involved brain damaged clients. The attorneys at Baker & Abraham have demonstrated a proven track record with brain injured clients over the years.

Baker & Abraham has professional relationships with top neurologists, physiatrists, neuropsychologists, speech and language pathologists and other health care professionals who deal primarily with the brain injured. We understand neuropsychological testing and how a defense neuropsychologist can manipulate testing to make the victim appear less injured. In a construction case with a brain injury component, Attorney Abraham confronted the insurance neuropsychologist and forced him to admit that he made mistakes in his testing that gave an inaccurate result. Only with an intimate understanding of brain injury and neuropsychological testing can a lawyer get a professional neuropsychologist to admit a mistake in his own field.

For a free consultation of your brain injury claim, please call us at (617) 330-1330 or contact us at or .