Neuropsychological testing tends to be more sensitive to brain injury than CT and routine MRI scans, which provide only a static and relatively gross view of neural structure. 2 In our and others’ experience, imaging techniques can occasionally pick up abnormalities caused by neurotoxicity and may be helpful for forensic purposes, but they are not cost-beneficial for routine screening. Researchers have noted that imaging techniques are often of little value in evaluating neurotoxicity. (This is true for head-injury patients and those suffering from dementia, as well as those affected by exposure to toxic chemicals.) The most reliable and widely accepted way to assess actual brain function is through neuropsychological evaluation. A person’s ability to think, perceive, control emotions, plan, and manage his or her life can diminish drastically without anything being visible to a radiologist or neurologist on an MRI or a CT scan. Neurotoxicity can be documented, but perhaps not in the way you might think.
This is important for a lawyer to know, because doctors often recognize only the person’s physical illness, not realizing that serious brain and nervous system damage may have also occurred. The symptoms may seem vague and unconnected, leading you to wonder, “Could these symptoms really be caused by a chemical exposure?” Once you recognize the signs and understand them in context-as a constellation of symptoms resulting from a toxic injury-you will have greater confidence in bringing your client’s case to justice.Ī person who has suffered a serious chemical injury is likely to have sustained considerable damage to his or her brain and nervous system. Chemically injured clients often report a confusing array of symptoms, with no medical diagnosis. Neurotoxicity-poisoning of the brain and nervous system-is a well-documented effect of exposure to many widely used chemicals, yet doctors (and lawyers) often fail to recognize it. But there are ways you and your experts can pinpoint the damage and its cause.
The symptoms of brain injury from exposure to hazards like lead paint and toxic chemicals vary widely.
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