Plaintiff Claims Dementia Stems from Car Crash

The plaintiff’s behavior grew increasingly erratic, and he began to become forgetful, eventually becoming unable to work or manage his affairs. He grew more distant from his family and had frequent violent outbursts.

The plaintiff alleged that the collision caused a traumatic brain injury that resulted in the development of traumatically induced fronto-temporal dementia.

The defendants insisted that the plaintiff suffered from early onset dementia prior to the collision. Medical records confirmed that he had complained to his primary care provider about memory problems before the accident and had been taking Aricept, a medication prescribed to Alzheimer’s sufferers.

Films confirmed that there were “areas of concern” on his brain that pre-dated the accident. At least one of the plaintiff’s treating physicians openly speculated in the records that he might be exaggerating his symptoms.

Both parties retained experts who were prepared to support their assertions at trial.

Plaintiff’s counsel sought out and interviewed each of the treating doctors and obtained sworn statements from these doctors, who had long since relocated to various locations across the country. Since the physicians had treated the plaintiff only for discrete periods of time, it was difficult for any one of them to provide a complete causation analysis.

Each physician signed sworn statements regarding the plaintiff’s symptoms and damages resulting from the head trauma suffered in the accident. The statements tended to rule out pre-existing conditions. Even the physician who had questioned whether the plaintiff might be exaggerating his symptoms concluded that his initial impression was incorrect, and that he was convinced of the validity of the plaintiff’s symptoms and the causal relationship to the accident.