A practical method for the evaluation of symptom exaggeration in minor head trauma among civil litigants.
Forensic psychiatrists and psychologists are often called on to provide opinions and render testimony in which minor head trauma accompanied by persistent somatic, cognitive, and/or emotional symptoms is alleged. The frequency of persistent symptoms following such minor head injury is generally low. The forensic clinician therefore must differentiate between subtle brain dysfunction, symptom amplification, psychogenic-based causes for the presence of cognitive and other deficits, or frank malingering. The purpose of this article is twofold: first, to review critical issues related to the assessment of malingering and symptom exaggeration in mild head injury cases; and second, to offer a practical model for the assessment of amplified neuropsychological and psychiatric deficits in civil litigants in cases of minor head trauma.
Sreenivasan
Shoba
S
Forensic Outreach Services, GLA-Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 11301 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA. Shoba.Sreenivasan@med.va.gov
Eth
Spencer
S
Kirkish
Patricia
P
Garrick
Thomas
T
D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D008192:Deception; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005104:Expert Testimony / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005260:Female; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D013577:Syndrome; D014481:United States