Source: http://www.forensic-psych.com/catDamages.php
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 08:28:04+00:00

Document:
Forensic psychiatrists evaluate the validity of psychological and emotional damages by way of providing data for the finder of fact as to causation and damages across the spectrum of civil litigation ranging from negligence to employment related issues.
A description of forensic psychiatry and the in-depth process that is entailed regarding civil and criminal cases. This process includes the presentation of the validity of emotional and physical damages as determined by a forensic evaluation, which differs significantly from that of a treating clinician.
The authors discuss damages which are attributed at least in part to the negligence of workplace supervisors.
Article: Kumho for Clinicians in the Courtroom. Dr. Bursztajn and colleagues explore the evolving role of the clinical expert post- Kumho .
An examination of the admissibility of scientific testimony in court, an important issue in the education of judges and juries as claims of emotional, medical, and psychological damages may sound dubious to the non-expert.
Case: Carvajal v. Mihalek, et al. Dr. Bursztajn's reference to an antisocial history in the course of his examination, opinion, and testimony was affirmed on appeal by a panel which included one of the better senior judge writers in the federal judiciary, Guido Calabrese, whose book, Tragic Choices deals with many of the issues of Dr. Bursztajn's book Medical Choices, Medical Chances in a legal context. This decision supports forensic psychiatric approaches to detecting malingering and misattribution.
Dr. Bursztajn has more than thirty years of experience as a practicing clinical and forensic neuropsychiatrist with a special interest in the interface between medicine and psychiatry, pain and suffering during coma and the dying process, and the forensic neuropsychiatric autopsy.
Claims of conscious pain and suffering may be difficult to support. The task of the forensic psychiatrist in such cases is to reconstruct the state of mind along scientifically acceptable principles. The following cases demonstrate the forensic psychiatric evaluation of conscious pain and suffering.
Article: In Treating Patients for Pain, a Racial Gap.
Article: Persistent Pain and Well-being. Persistent pain was a commonly reported health problem among primary care patients and was consistently associated with psychological illness across centers. Large variation in frequency and the inconsistent relationship between persistent pain and disability across centers suggests caution in drawing conclusions about the role of culture in shaping responses to persistent pain when comparisons are based on patient samples drawn from a limited number of health care settings in each culture.
The courts recognize Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a type of damages. The cause and effects of PTSD must be distinguished from causes and effects of other symptoms or conditions. Therefore, the presence of PTSD can be verified or disclaimed only by a trained evaluator. The following cases used forensic psychiatric testimony to support or refute claims of PTSD related injury.
Interview: Emotional trauma may have kept Amy Lord from fleeing. Dr. Bursztajn, as a forensic psychiatric expert with a special interest in head trauma and PTSD, is interviewed on the brutal kidnapping and killing of Amy Lord. Chelsea Conaboy, Boston Globe , July 26, 2013.
Case: Vick v. Northrop Grumman . Neuropsychiatric autopsy of a suicide in the context of a workers compensation case.
January 31, 2011: What will become of the Secaucus Three?
In the last decade, researchers have convincingly demonstrated that psychological stress can increase vulnerability to disease and have begun to understand how that might occur in The Heavy Cost of Chronic Stress. The New York Times, December 17, 2002.
Case: Meador v. Sidney Stahler, M.D. and Ruben Gheridian, M.D.
Case: Loukia Panas and Nicholas Panas v. John Harakis and K-Mart Corporation . Dr. Bursztajn's testimony is cited in this New Hampshire Supreme Court decision from 1987.
Case: Jamie Claborn Drewry v. Phillip Harwell, M.D.
Article: Vinal v. New England Telephone : Admission of PTSD Psychophysiologic Test Results in a Civil Trial.
Gift from Within is an International private non-profit organization for survivors dedicated to those who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Case: A recent successful asylum case Dr. Bursztajn testified in.
Istanbul Protocol. The first set of international guidelines for documentation of torture and its consequences.
Examining Asylum Seekers. This manual is intended to provide medical professionals with the information necessary to conduct these potentially life-saving evaluations.
Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights at Boston Medical Center. A resource for refugees and torture victims seeking asylum.
Article: Holocaust Survivors at Higher Risk for All Cancers. Jewish survivors of World War II who were potentially exposed to the Holocaust are at a higher risk for cancer occurrence, according to a new study published online October 26 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Book: Medical and Psychological Effects of Concentration Camps on Holocaust Survivors by Robert Krell & Marc I. Sherman.
Article: Perpetrator's Death Can 'Unfreeze' Grieving. A posting by Dr. Bursztajn on the blog of NPR reporter Carey Goldberg.
Article: Experts Offer Fresh Insights Into the Mind of the Grieving Child. Grief and loss of consortium for children.
Article: Calculating the Benefits of Managing Stress. A Duke University study followed heart patients for five years and is believed to be the first to measure the benefits of stress management over a sustained period and to demonstrate its potential economic benefits.
Documentary: There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane. Dr. Bursztajn participates in investigating the mysterious tragedy of Diane Schuler. Several reviews and subsequent interviews with Dr. Bursztajn followed after the initial airing of the documentary on July 25, 2011.
Interview, Review and Follow Up News: Husband of Taconic Crash's Diane Schuler Sues N.Y. State. ABC News , July 25, 2011.
Review: Pursuing Answers, Two Years After a Tragic Collision. New York Times , July 24, 2011.
Review: There’s Something Wrong With Aunt Diane. The Washington Post , July 25, 2011.
Dr. Bursztajn participated in several documentaries produced for the Discovery Channel by Atlantic Productions where he performs neuropsychiatric autopsies on famous historical figures.

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