The work of our law firm is largely based around handling traumatic brain injury cases. It’s what we’re known for. We handle cases both nationally and locally regarding traumatic brain injuries, and Doctor / Lawyer Aaron DeShaw is a resource both for Brain Injury Alliance of Oregon and brain injury survivors. In addition to handling our own brain injury cases, we are hired by other lawyers in Oregon, Washington and other states to bring our expertise and trial skills to their traumatic brain injury cases.
Brain imaging can be important to understanding whether there is a brain bleed that leads to immediate danger, although as discussed in some of our other videos, there are mild, moderate, and severe traumatic brain injuries. Approximately 80% of all traumatic brain injuries are medically defined as “mild traumatic brain injuries,” (even though the symptoms often are not “mild” and can be life changing). We handle mild traumatic brain injury cases along with moderate and severe traumatic brain injury cases at our law firm, but what’s been a historical problem is that CT and MRI tend not to show those traumatic brain injuries. In fact, 80% of all traumatic brain injuries show no abnormalities on MRI or CT.
What we’ve been doing is we’re on the cutting edge using the most advanced MRI scanners, DTI, PET scans, MEG scans, and a number of other technologies in order to find out if there’s anything either physically or electrically or chemically wrong with a person’s brain after the traumatic brain injury. In addition, we use neuropsychology and neuropsychologists to do examinations, neurologists in some case where there’s neurological deficits, and a number of other important things.
In cases where it is necessary we employ advanced MRI scanners, Diffuse Tensor Imaging (“DTI,”) PET scans, Magnetoencephalography (“MEG”) scans, and a number of other technologies in order to find out if there’s anything either physically or electrically wrong with a person’s brain after a traumatic brain injury. In addition, we seek the insights of neuropsychologists in some cases, and neurologists in the small number of cases where there are frank neurological deficits (most of the time people with mild traumatic brain injuries do not have frank neurological changes after a traumatic brain injury, and without a comprehensive neurological examination including computerized eye tracking and computerized vestibular tracking, the neurological examination will often be completely normal. So a normal neurological examination does not mean that a person does not have a traumatic brain injury. We have experience in successfully handling such cases.
As you’ll find in one of our other videos, our office has been set up specifically for people with traumatic brain injuries. We’ve done a number of things to ensure that you would be comfortable at the office, and I personally sit down with every traumatic brain injury client and take between a 45-minute and a five-hour interview with you to find out everything about your case so that we can help represent you in the very best way possible.