Traumatic Brain Injuries

concussionIn a prior newsletter, our firm authored an article comparing traumatic brain injuries (TBI) to psychological injuries. As discussed in the article, many of the complaints made by an individual with TBI may appear to be psychological in nature. As a result, individuals can be misdiagnosed as having a psychological injury while the actual physical damage to their brain is never identified or treated. In cases where individuals have been exposed to events, such as the concussive blasts from an improvised explosive device (IED), it is extremely important that any such traumatic events be disclosed and discussed with the medical provider so that an appropriate workup can be performed and an accurate diagnosis determined. Just recently, the news program ’60 Minutes’ aired a piece on the “Invisible Wounds of War” which focused on the issue of TBI. Central to the piece was the difficulty in properly diagnosing TBI versus a psychological injury.