Neuropsychological Testing in Washington Personal Injury Cases

Neuropsychological testing, along with other medical evidence, can support a diagnosis of cognitive effects consistent with a brain injury. In Washington personal injury cases, this type of evidence may play an important role in evaluating damages and supporting a claim for compensation.

Reach out to a Washington traumatic brain injury lawyer today to learn how neuropsychological testing may be used to support your injury claim.

What is neuropsychological testing?

The phrase “neuropsychological testing” refers to a series of tests that certain medical professionals can use to assess just how well your brain is working. The exact neuropsychological test you may be asked to take depends on your symptoms, as well as the brain-related issues you are facing.

For example, if you were in a car accident and are now having issues with cognition, you may be asked to solve logic puzzles and answer complex questions in order for your healthcare provider to assess the brain injury or brain-related changes you may have sustained.

You can also use neuropsychological testing to clarify the damage you sustained. Results can help document the type and severity of cognitive impairment and support a claim for damages when consistent with other medical evidence.

How is neuropsychological testing used to diagnose traumatic brain injuries?

Neuropsychological testing can help assess and document cognitive effects associated with a suspected traumatic brain injury (TBI) and may be used as part of a broader clinical evaluation. During a neuropsychological evaluation, clinicians use standardized tests to assess how different brain regions function. These assessments may help by:

• Using specific tests to assess your perceptual-motor skills, language skills, memory abilities, attention skills, and executive function, among other things.
• Allowing a medical professional to compare test results to baseline or normative metrics and use the differences to determine potential brain injuries or issues.
• Giving your doctor test results, produced over a long period of time, so that they can use them to assess your healing, as well as the long-term brain issues you may be forced to live with.
• Letting your doctor use your test results, and any changes in those results over a long-term period, to create a treatment plan that addresses the issues revealed by these tests.

Diagnosing a TBI often requires more than neuropsychological testing. But neuropsychological testing can provide evidence to corroborate symptoms and document cognitive deficits, which may support (but does not necessarily confirm on its own) a TBI-related claim. You can use this evidence to clarify the brain injuries you sustained and the damage caused by these brain injuries. This can help you obtain compensation.

How do brain injury lawyers use neuropsychological testing to obtain compensation?

Proving cognitive impairment

Many brain injuries come with some form of cognitive impairment. Neuropsychological testing can help establish cognitive impairment through admissible medical and expert evidence. Some of the ways brain injury lawyers use neuropsychological testing to prove cognitive impairment are as follows:

• Using your test results and their comparison to a specific cognitive performance baseline to argue that you are living with cognitive impairment.
• Making use of those test results to demonstrate the exact areas in which you are experiencing brain-related decline. These could be memory and speech, to name just two examples.
• Presenting testimony from your neuropsychologist to explain the test results and how the identified impairments may affect your ability to work and carry out daily activities.

Supporting long-term compensation claims

If a brain injury results in long-term impairment, your lawyer may use neuropsychological testing to support a long-term compensation claim. This type of compensation may address ongoing living expenses and the loss of future earning capacity caused by the injury.

Successful long-term compensation claims are often complex, but neuropsychological testing may help by allowing your brain injury lawyer to:

• Use your test results to predict the long-term care you may require, as well as the costs associated with this long-term care.
• Pair these neuropsychological test results with other evidence, such as a symptoms journal and witness testimony, that clarifies the overall suffering caused by this brain injury.
• Bring your neuropsychologist to the stand and have them explain why the results of your tests support a need for long-term compensation.

Why is expert testimony important when presenting neuropsychological test results?

You can use the results of neuropsychological testing to argue for specific damages, including:

• Wages you lost at work and may be unable to earn in the future, due to your brain injury.
• Medical bills you have sustained are due to your brain injury.
• Pain and suffering you are experiencing or may experience in the future, due to your brain injury.

To obtain these damages, you can use your neuropsychological test results as evidence. However, interpreting this evidence can be challenging due to the inherent complexity of these tests. Expert testimony is important when presenting neuropsychological test results because a neuropsychologist can:

• Present models, diagrams, and charts to help explain the testing process and results in a clear way.
• Translate complex medical terminology into something easier for a judge and jury to understand.
• Explain test results and the brain injuries they correlate with.
• Discuss what test results mean when it comes to your brain’s health, lost earnings, and future life.
• Offer an objective professional assessment that supports the damages and compensation being requested.

Work with a Washington brain injury lawyer

If you sustained a brain injury due to someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation. At Smith McBroom Injury and Accident Lawyers, we’re ready to help you. Contact us today to speak with a Washington brain injury lawyer.