Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Military personnel who suffer severe or moderate traumatic brain injury
(TBI) face an increased risk for developing several long-term health
problems, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine that
evaluates the evidence on long-term consequences of TBI. These
conditions include Alzheimer’s-like dementia, aggression, memory loss,
depression, and symptoms similar to those of Parkinson’s disease. Even
mild TBI is associated with some of these adverse consequences, noted
the committee that wrote the report.
In addition, the report notes that brain injuries sustained as a
result of exposure to the force of an explosion without a direct strike
to the head — one of the most common perils for soldiers in Iraq and
Afghanistan — may be underdiagnosed due to the lack of research on
blast injury. It calls for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs to step up clinical and animal studies
of blast-induced neurotrauma (BINT)
The full report can be found Here.
This is a potential issue in cases where the accused has been diagnosed with TBI, or the circumstances are suspicious for undiagnosed TBI. There are a number of circumstances, along with PTSD, where the mental physical health effects as a result of TBI should cause you to look for a potential defense to offenses, especially those requiring specific intent.