Mild head injury is not always mild; implications for damage litigation.

The traditional view that mild head injury involves an essentially reversible physiological process is examined and is found to be largely invalid. It is concluded that long-term impairment following mild head injury is fairly common and that the degree of impairment can be assessed clinically. Such an assessment involves a combination of objective electrophysiological and psychometric investigations as well as professional interpretation. With the use of this approach the possibility of malingering can be ruled out in most cases and significant impairment, when it exists, can be demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt.