Neuropsychological testing brain injury lawyer

Neuropsychological testing is usually the most important evidence in a brain injury claim, because it converts symptoms a person reports into measurements a clinician records. It is also the evidence the defense works hardest to undermine, through its own examiner and through challenges to how the testing was performed. Understanding what the testing does, and what makes it durable, matters. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. handles brain injury claims in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York.

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What the testing measures

A structured battery administered by a clinician trained in the relationship between brain function and behavior, assessing domains including attention, processing speed, learning and memory, language, visuospatial function and executive function — planning, inhibition and cognitive flexibility. Performance is compared against normative data adjusted for age, education and background, which is how a result becomes a measurement rather than an impression. Crucially, batteries include performance and symptom validity measures designed to detect insufficient effort or exaggeration.

Why validity measures decide the argument

The defense position in a contested brain injury claim is usually not that testing is unreliable in general, but that this person’s results reflect effort rather than injury. Passing embedded and standalone validity measures answers that affirmatively rather than by denial. Testing performed without adequate validity measures is materially weaker evidence, and it invites a defense examiner to fill the gap. This is the single most important technical feature of a report.

When testing should be done

Timing involves a trade-off. Testing performed very early may capture acute effects that will resolve, overstating permanent deficit. Testing performed too late loses the opportunity to document the trajectory. In practice an initial assessment once the acute phase has passed, with repeat testing later where deficits persist, produces the most useful evidence, because a stable pattern across two assessments separated in time is considerably harder to attribute to effort or to transient factors.

How the defense attacks a report

By retaining its own neuropsychologist to perform an independent examination, typically focused heavily on validity. By arguing the battery was too narrow, or that the wrong normative data was applied. By attributing results to depression, anxiety, pain, medication, poor sleep, English-language background or pre-existing learning difficulty. By pointing to a normal result in one domain as inconsistent with impairment in another. And by arguing the testing was arranged by counsel rather than by a treating clinician — which is a reason for the referral to come through the treating physician wherever possible.

Connecting results to the incident

Testing measures current function; it does not by itself establish what caused it. The link is built from the pre-incident baseline — academic records, work history, performance reviews, prior testing if any — combined with the mechanism, the acute clinical picture and the consistency of the symptom pattern. A person with documented strong pre-incident performance and measured deficits afterward presents a coherent picture. Without the baseline, the same test results are open to the argument that this is simply how the person has always functioned.

Available insurance coverage

What can be recovered is limited by what coverage exists. The at-fault party’s policy is the starting point, but it is frequently not the only source: the injured person’s own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, household policies, employer coverage where a vehicle was used for work, umbrella and excess layers, and the coverage of any additional responsible party can all apply. Underinsured coverage typically requires notice and consent before any settlement with the at-fault party — settling first can forfeit it. Identifying every available layer is early work, not closing work.

How damages are categorised and proven

Damages are not a single number that gets negotiated. They are separate categories, each proven by different evidence. Past medical expense is proven by billing records and the reasonableness of the charges. Future medical expense requires a physician’s opinion that the care is reasonably certain to be needed. Lost income is proven by employment and tax records; lost earning capacity is a different and larger question requiring vocational and economic analysis. Non-economic loss — pain, limitation, and the effect on daily life — is proven through the medical record and through testimony from people who can describe specific changes rather than general decline. No one can responsibly tell you what a case is worth before that evidence exists, and any figure offered at the outset is a guess.

Filing deadlines

Every injury claim is governed by a statute of limitations, and the periods differ by state and by claim type. For personal injury actions the period is two years in Virginia under Va. Code § 8.01-243(A), accruing at the date of injury; three years in Maryland under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101; three years in the District of Columbia under D.C. Code § 12-301(8); two years in New Jersey under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2; and three years in New York under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214(5). These are general periods. Discovery rules, tolling for minors and incapacity, claims against government entities — the District imposes a six-month notice-of-claim requirement for claims against the District government — and claim-specific statutes can shorten or extend them. Do not rely on a general period for your own case; have the deadline confirmed on your facts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens during neuropsychological testing?

A structured series of tasks and questionnaires administered over several hours, sometimes across more than one session, assessing memory, attention, processing speed, language, visuospatial skills and executive function. It is tiring by design. There is no preparation to do and no way to study for it; the appropriate approach is to attend rested and to give genuine effort throughout.

What are validity measures?

Assessments embedded within the battery, and sometimes administered separately, designed to detect insufficient effort or symptom exaggeration. They are not an accusation — they are standard practice. Passing them is affirmative evidence that your results reflect genuine impairment, which directly answers the argument the defense is most likely to make.

Should my own lawyer arrange the testing?

Where possible the referral should come from your treating physician as part of your care, because testing arranged through treatment is harder to characterize as litigation-driven than testing arranged by counsel. The clinician should be selected for competence in this assessment, and should routinely use validity measures.

Will I have to be examined by the other side’s expert?

In a contested claim, commonly yes. A defense neuropsychological examination is a normal part of the process. You should attend, cooperate and give genuine effort. You should not attempt to appear worse than you are; the examination is designed to detect exactly that, and a validity failure damages a genuine claim more than any single test result could.

What if my results are normal in some areas?

That is expected. Brain injury affects specific domains rather than global function, and a pattern of selective deficit with preserved ability elsewhere is more consistent with real injury than uniform poor performance would be. A qualified clinician interprets the pattern, not individual scores in isolation.

Does depression affect the results?

It can affect attention and processing speed, which is why the defense raises it. A qualified neuropsychologist assesses mood as part of the evaluation and accounts for it in the interpretation. It is also worth remembering that depression is itself a recognized consequence of brain injury, so its presence is not automatically an alternative explanation.

Should I be tested more than once?

Often, yes. Repeat testing after an interval documents whether deficits are stable, improving or worsening, and a consistent pattern across two assessments separated in time is much harder to attribute to effort or to transient factors. It also supports an opinion on permanence, which is required before a claim should be resolved.

How long do I have to bring a claim?

Two years in Virginia and New Jersey, three years in Maryland, the District of Columbia and New York for personal injury actions, subject to tolling and discovery rules and to shorter notice periods for claims against government entities. Testing takes time to arrange, so the deadline should be confirmed early rather than after the assessment.

About Mr. Sris

Mr. Sris is the owner and founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., which has practiced since 1997. He is a former prosecutor and is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York. Of Counsel attorneys contract directly with the firm and handle matters alongside him. In 2019 Mr. Sris testified before the Virginia House Courts of Justice Committee on House Bill 635.

Speak with Mr. Sris

Injury claims are governed by filing deadlines that vary by state and by claim type, and evidence degrades quickly. Request a consultation. Reach our location at (888) 437-7747. Consultations are by appointment.

Last reviewed: August 22, 2026.

Attorney Advertising. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., principal office: 4008 Williamsburg Court, Fairfax, VA 22032. By appointment. Call (888) 437-7747 to schedule.

The information on this page is general and is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading it or by contacting the firm. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Results may vary.

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