How Does A Medicolegal Report Help When An Accident Occurs?
When an individual has been involved in an accident be it via, car, taxi, train, bus, motorbike, bicycle or as a pedestrian, there is a need for expert assessment to determine the effect of the accident for any legal claim such as the Road Accident Fund claim (RAF). These experts conduct several medical and psychological assessments and compile a medicolegal report that is used as part of the legal process. The expert who prepares the report may also be called to testify in court to provide further information and explain the findings of the report.
Usually, when an accident is mentioned in day-to-day life, the physical aspect of the accident is what comes to mind such as a broken leg and scars as these are easily seen and quantifiable. However, there are other health consequences that are often overlooked, notably the change in personality and behaviour by some individuals after a head injury. Other consequences are inability to return to work or perform social and personal care activities. To successfully claim for the decline in intellectual capacity, impaired emotional functioning, and severe accident-related stress, neuropsychological reports, and other medico-legal reports are required for presentation to the High Courts.
Dr. JFL Mureriwa and his team at the Neuropsychology Medico-legal Practice, a unit of Biofeedback Laboratories specialize in compiling these reports. The team consists of psychometrists, neuropsychologists, EEG technicians, and nurses. The special contribution of their neuropsychological reports is that in addition to the psychometric tests, the evaluation includes quantitative EEG neuroimaging. With this assessment procedure, the psychologist is able to demonstrate, with brain scans, the link between the claimant’s symptoms, and the changes in brain function after head injury.
EEG neuroimaging can detect changes in brain function that may not be detected by structural neuroimaging such as CT scans or MRI. The results of EEG neuroimaging correlate with the results of other functional neuroimaging techniques, notably functional MRI (fMRI), Magnetic Encephalography (MEG), and Positron Emission Tomography (PET).
The Assessment procedure at the Neuropsychology Medico-legal Practice is includes clinical interviews, psychometric tests, psychophysiological assessment (special focus on EEG), and medical laboratory tests as described in their Terms and Conditions.
For help with medicolegal assessments please make contact and book an appointment with us.
