How to Prove Invisible Brain Injury in Court

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]So, you served as president of the Brain Injury Association of Connecticut for 6 years and you lectured on making invisible brain injuries visible.

[00:00:10]Why is that so hard to do in a in a courtroom?

[00:00:13]Well, I think I think that when people are listening to the case, when people are serving as jurors and hearing about injuries, they want to see something.

[00:00:24]A brain injury, sometimes even the most profound brain injuries are not something you see. You don't see an empty lane. Um, you don't see an empty chair where someone would otherwise be sitting. So, and and people who have very very, um, deeply impacting brain injuries can carry on a conversation as long as it's a familiar conversation, as long as the focus of the conversation is on them.

[00:00:47]So, I think presenting these cases and really reducing something when you're presenting it the case and can be incredibly life-altering, but at the same time it's not immediately obvious.

[00:00:58]It is invisible and that's where the challenge is for those of us who represent those with brain injury. It's one of the challenges that we face in trying to put evidence that convinces a jury that someone has life-altering brain injuries. They have to see something, something very, um, impressive. And they won't necessarily see it. So, you also that's kind of related to that. You were appointed Connecticut Legislative Task Task Force for studying concussions in youth athletics. Well, what what did you when you're involved in that, what did you find out, um, being involved in that?

[00:01:35]>> Well, I think it would it would be a concussion and really that that that group was, uh, created in March starting in response to the concerns of parents in several communities here in Connecticut who had concerns about the way coaches and assistant coaches were managing head injuries and concussions during athletic competitions across of steed.

[00:01:58]And so, I came to know um some others who really were the impetus for for their thinking in the right way. So, they became very very good voices for vocal supporters of educating and enforcing better standards for coaches and moms who maybe didn't understand many things so that people didn't have multiple head injuries in a very limited period of time, which which now well known as a as a significant effect on people. So, that's sort of how I got involved in that and and and who I worked with on that. And you know, I was honored to be invited by some of the lawyers to serve because of my experience with brain injuries and also with family cases and also family cases and developing an understanding of how how brain injuries happen and how they impact people.