Life Expectancy In Cases Of Traumatic Brain Injury, by Tim Grover & Hannah Brookfield

It is becoming increasingly common for neurologists instructed on behalf of defendants in brain injury cases to rely upon the tables published in the study “Life Expectancy of 1-Year Survivors of Traumatic Brain Injury, 1988-2019: Updated Results From the TBI Model Systems” to contend for a reduction in the life expectancy of a claimant who has suffered a traumatic brain injury.

In their paper, however, the authors of the study recognised that there are limitations to the application of their work.

In particular, the authors expressly cautioned that:

• The comparison groups used in the study are very broad and adjustment will be required in each particular case to reflect the abilities and disabilities of the injured person.
• The life expectancy figures for one of the main comparison groups are considered to be overly pessimistic.
• The study did not take into account the presence or otherwise of potentially significant additional risk factors.

Accordingly, in the event that a neurologist instructed on behalf of a defendant takes issue with the life expectancy of a claimant, it would be prudent to check whether they have made any adjustments to reflect the known limitations of the study or have erroneously applied the life expectancy reduction suggested