San Francisco Injury Attorney Blog

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that the U.S. army is using a new imaging test to look for objective signs of TBI traumatic brain injury. The testing, called SPECT, or single-photon emission computerized tomography, shows the level of blood flow throughout the brain. Many traumatic brain injuries result from blast injuries for soldiers, but most commonly are caused by injury accidents for civilians. In TBI injury cases, the injury can result from a blow or jolt to the head, which in turn causes a concussion-the brain hits the interior of the skull. A major frustration for personal injury lawyers has been getting an objective diagnosis of TBI injuries. CT and MRI scans typically do not show MTBI, or mild traumatic brain injury, even though an MTBI can have life-changing effects, including impaired memory and cognitive function.

In TBI personal injury cases, we are often up against defense arguments that if the injury does not show up on a CT scan or MRI, it simply does not exist. Although neuropsychologist testing can show the effects of an MTBI, the lack of imaging scans showing just what is wrong with the brain make it much more challenging to prove an MTBI injury case. Lawyers spend a great deal of time bringing in family members and other witnesses to prove that the person who has suffered the traumatic brain injury really is impaired, even though there is no test that clearly shows it. Ironically, MTBI effects are often seen on autopsy in cases where they could not be seen with any scans.

If this new technology used in the SPECT scans is able to disclose actual evidence of brain pathology in people who have traumatic brain injuries, it will significantly improve injury plaintiffs and claimants in proving their cases.