title: A practical method for the evaluation of symptom exaggeration in minor head trauma among civil litigants.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Forensic Outreach Services, GLA-Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 11301 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA. Shoba.Sreenivasan@med.va.gov
authors.forename: Shoba
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sreenivasan
authors.forename: Spencer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eth
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kirkish
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Garrick
mesh_terms: 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