Here are the next steps in utilizing cross-examination to strengthen a traumatic brain injury case:
- Create a list of your client’s symptoms and go through them with the medical expert to prove that your client does meet the definition of a person with a traumatic brain injury.
- If the defense attempts to attribute your client’s symptoms to a previous injury or illness, use your client’s close friends and family to counteract it. They will be able to describe the client’s behavior before and after the accident to the judge.
- Ask the medical expert if he conducted a Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Scale test on your client to assess your client’s functioning before and after the accident. If he hasn’t, this may decrease the credibility of the defense’s medical expert.
- Determine whether or not your client had previous injuries or mental illnesses. If so, use them to your advantage—there are many scientific arguments that state a person with a previous illness is more susceptible to poorer outcomes following a traumatic accident.
Cross-examination allows a personal injury lawyer to disprove myths of mild traumatic brain injury, establish a pre-injury “baseline,” and prove that their client’s symptoms meet the definition of traumatic brain injury. In sum, it enables an attorney to use the defense’s own expert to strengthen their side of the case and weaken the defense claim at the exact same time.
If you have suffered from a head or brain injury and need legal assistance, please contact Parrish Law Firm, PLLC at 703-906-4229 now.
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