The Forensic Examiner Articles

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Acquired disability following trauma is an area that is in dire need of discussion and explanation. Unless an expert is fully informed of the multitude of preand post-injury medical and psychosocial dynamics that surround an individual’s claim of occupational disability, he or she may not be in a position to make absolute judgments regarding residual employability, preand post-work capacity, or the causal attribution of vocational disability. Causal attribution is critical in determining disability chronicity following trauma, as the host of contributing psychosocial dynamics effecting unproductive states are often overlooked when investigating the most obvious reason for work absence, a so-called explanatory event. A thorough and accurate history-taking is necessary when assessing pre-injury work longevity, determining residual employability, and causally ascribing occupational disability to a particular event. Acquiring a complete and reliable history through various sources places the expert in a better position to offer a professionally certain opinion. Written by Jasen Walker, EdD; from the Spring 2006 Forensic Examiner.