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Complexities of Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries: Keys to Establishing Causation and Overcoming Common Defenses

A live 90-minute CLE video webinar with interactive Q&A

This program is included with the Strafford CLE Pass. Click for more information.
This program is included with the Strafford All-Access Pass. Click for more information.

Thursday, May 29, 2025

1:00pm-2:30pm EDT, 10:00am-11:30am PDT

Early Registration Discount Deadline, Friday, May 2, 2025

or call 1-800-926-7926
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This CLE webinar will discuss the complexities of proving causation where the plaintiff has suffered "mild" traumatic brain injury but presents with life-altering symptoms and cannot return to their pre-injury lifestyle. The panel, composed of plaintiff counsel, defense counsel, and a physician expert, will offer insights and guidance on showing permanent injury notwithstanding an initial diagnosis of mild injury in these highly contested matters.

Description

"Mild" traumatic brain injury can cause permanent, life-altering brain damage even if the plaintiff did not lose consciousness, did not have extensive physical injuries, the vehicle was relatively unscathed, or symptoms developed slowly. But, proving the connection between mild brain injury and severe symptoms can be challenging and requires method and order. Moreover, plaintiffs must overcome defenses that may be easier for juries to understand.

Defendants typically seek to show plaintiffs have been misdiagnosed with permanent injury and/or that the plaintiff's symptoms arise from a condition (1) that the jury can easily understand and (2) from which recovery is possible.

Discovery is an expensive battleground in these cases. The defense will seek to uncover problems in the plaintiff's functioning before the accident, looking for evidence of prior injury, psychological issues, the abuse of prescription or non-prescription drugs, social issues, and/or alcohol problems to explain cognitive or emotional injury.

Listen as this esteemed panel discusses the complexities of litigating "mild" traumatic brain injury and how to overcome them. 

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Outline

  1. Introduction
  2. Diagnosis challenges
    1. Assessment of consciousness levels
    2. Glasgow coma test assessment
    3. Galveston orientation and amnesia test
    4. Imaging
    5. Finding the right physicians
  3. Litigation challenges
    1. Plaintiff's brain injury has led to personality changes, and jury does not like plaintiff
    2. Discovery
    3. Experts
    4. Legal standard of causation and its importance in traumatic brain injury cases
    5. Distinguishing causation from fault
    6. Linking injury to symptoms
    7. Overcoming lack of physical injury or property damage
  4. Causation defenses
    1. Event could not/did not cause permanent brain injury
    2. Plaintiff does not have permanent brain injury
    3. Plaintiff's condition is treatable, and plaintiff will improve
    4. Other conditions, not defendant's acts, caused plaintiff's injuries
      1. Preexisting condition
      2. Psychological condition
      3. Addiction
      4. Congenital/genetic defect
      5. Other disease
      6. Prior brain injury
      7. Old age

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What are the leading causes of traumatic brain injury?
  • What factors weigh for and against taking any particular case to trial?
  • What should one look for in a police, emergency room, paramedic, fire department, or other first responder report?
  • How can plaintiffs limit overreaching discovery that may ask for data decades old?

Faculty

Siporin, Matthew
Matthew T. Siporin
Partner
Pullano & Siporin

Mr. Siporin is a trial lawyer that has dedicated his entire career to securing justice on behalf of injury...  |  Read More

Attend on May 29

Early Discount (through 05/02/25)

Cannot Attend May 29?

Early Discount (through 05/02/25)

You may pre-order a recording to listen at your convenience. Recordings are available 48 hours after the webinar. Strafford will process CLE credit for one person on each recording. All formats include course handouts.

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