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Myth 9: Mild TBI is not permanent.
Over and over again defense doctors testify that everyone who sustains a mild traumatic brain injury gets better; that mild traumatic brain injury is not a permanent condition. This simply is untrue.
Dr. Alexander has pointed out that at one year after injury, 10 percent to 15 percent of mild TBI patients have not recovered. Many are more symptomatic than even immediately after the injury. Some have had persistence of one particularly troubling symptom –usually headache, neck pain or dizziness. Most have persistence and even worsening of the entire symptom complex. Both groups are at high risk of permanent symptomatic persistent post-concussive syndrome.
Work to date shows that mild brain injury results in measurable deficits in speed of information, processing, attention and memory in the immediate post-injury period. Recovery from these deficits is the rule occurring over a variable period ranging from four to 12 weeks. For small group, recovery may occur much more slowly or remain incomplete.
As Silver and McAlister explain, a good recovery is not universal. They note that although the long-term prognosis is favorable for the majority of patients with a mild TBI, it is well recognized that there can be significant short-term behavioral, somatic and cognitive sequelae. Furthermore, a significant minority of patients develops a chronic, often-debilitating constellation of signs and symptoms known as the chronic post-concussive syndrome.
You can read my other posts on the 10 myths of traumatic brain injuries here.
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As a follow up to my previous post at the National Academy of Neuropsychology’s (NAN) 27th Annual Conference in Scottsdale, AZ, below is a link to an MP3 of my presentation. The topic of the presentation was “Neuropsychology in the Courtroom.”
My presentation was designed to give neuropsychologists an understanding of the admissibility of neuropsychological testimony at trial through a retrospective look at neuropsychological testimony and admissibility in the past and my observations of where neuropsychology was headed in the future.
You can listen to the presentation in its entirety here. (42 MB)
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