Neuropsychological, functional, and behavioral outcome in South African traumatic brain injury litigants

Few studies address the extent to which, during the process of litigation, individuals with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury might malinger in their performance on neuropsychological assessment batteries. This study explored whether financial settlement influenced neuropsychological test performance and activities of daily living in litigants (N = 31) who were tested and interviewed both during litigation and 1 year or more after case settlement. Results showed that neuropsychological test scores did not change from assessment during forensic proceedings to assessment after settlement. Although some improvement was evident in activities of daily living, the gains were small and their clinical significance questionable. We found no evidence that individuals with moderate-to-severe TBI, despite clear potential for secondary gain, malingered or delivered sub-optimal effort during neuropsychological evaluation taking place in the context of litigation.