The clues for traumatic brain injury and damage are in the eyes.
Most head injury victims with severe brain injury end up in the hospital. Yet upwards of 95% of those patients are sent home.
Most injury victims see a personal injury attorney, who refers them to the medical specialist the attorney believes is appropriate, including experts in ophthalmological trauma.
Traditionally, if clients complain of headaches, concussions, memory difficulties, problems concentrating, or emotional changes they get referred to neurologists. Or, they may see a chiropractor or orthopedic surgeon if they have accompanying back and neck injuries.
If you drill down and talk to these patients, as Dr. Rauchman does, they almost all have visual complaints such as blurred or tunnel vision. Those visual dysfunctions are frequently missed, which is why they are sent home instead of to the proper doctor for further treatment.
When a lawsuit is pursued, confusion may arise about the symptoms, diagnoses, and treatment of seemingly unrelated conditions. If a head injury and visual problems co-exist, finding the best Expert Witness can be frustrating. Dr. Rauchman serves as an expert witness, or consultant, to help attorneys (plaintiff and defense) better understand the nature of the injuries reported by a plaintiff. He also evaluates the opinions of other experts.
“50% of the healthy brain is working on vision. When the brain is injured, normal vision is one of the first things to go.”
The evidence has been staring us in the face.
Our eyes are the way we interact with the world. The majority of traumatic brain injury patients have difficulty reading and focusing after a head injury or significant whiplash, but nobody ever asks them about these trouble areas. These patients have significant light sensitivity, ocular pain, and at times can have double vision or see spots. Unless you find an eye specialist who is knowledgeable regarding TBI’s most doctors find nothing wrong and these patients are then ignored.
Recently, eye doctors and eye care specialists at VA hospitals have stopped sending veterans home after they complained of eye problems and those professionals started doing research. The research data results revealed that head injury patients had important vision problems. The clues were in the eye exam and the cause was in the brain.
“Cars collide at 60 miles per hour. Human beings were not designed to go from 60 miles per hour to zero in one second. You don’t need to be a neurologist, just watch a crash test dummy in slow motion.”
30+ years in clinical medical practice
Medical-Legal Experience and Credentials
As an eye physician, surgeon, and experienced expert witness of many decades, Dr. Rauchman has opined in hundreds of cases.
He brings a hands-on diagnosis and medical findings that shed light on head and traumatic brain injuries, and co-existing visual issues.
Dr. Rauchman has testified in dozens of legal matters in his trademark articulate and accessible manner.
Dr. Rauchman understands how important it is for an attorney to best represent their clients by retaining the Expert Witness suited to the nature of a particular lawsuit.