A plaintiff attorney took on a case of a female, middle aged school teacher in a small community who was involved in a moderately severe motor vehicle accident and claimed an inability to work due to both sciatica pain but even more disabling trauma related symptoms. The attorney had considered filing suit without first hiring a psychological consultant, based upon the claimant’s seemingly normal premorbid life and respected profession. Upon a sound but relatively brief assessment, it was clear that her history and functioning made a diagnosis of histrionic personality disorder very likely, and there were clear signs of malingering even without extensive testing. An honest discussion with the attorney led to her decision to advise her client to accept the best possible settlement for physical damages, and did not pursue the psychiatric claims, preventing her from investing in a case that would not stand up on a defense evaluation and would put a negative light on the validity of the client’s physical injuries.

Consulted on a death penalty case of a 30 year old woman that seemed hopeless to the legal team, who could not, based on the initial review of a local psychologist, see any clear diagnostic reason for the offense. However, upon viewing the interrogation interviews, it was very likely that she demonstrated signs of dissociative disorder, based upon subtle changes in facial expression, tone of voice, and the manner in which she expressed herself.  Working in conjunction with a nationally recognized expert in multiple personality disorder and jointly discovering her horrifically traumatizing childhood, while ruling out malingering and assessing differential diagnoses, the defendant did not get death, but a sentence that allowed her hope of parole many years later.  Importantly, based on how the attorneys used our work to arrive at a plea agreement, she would eventually be allowed to live in a minimal security setting, which for her may give her the safest environment she has ever had.

Evaluated a young girl for loss of consortium damages whose mother was a drug addict and ex-stripper who perished in a motor vehicle accident.  Not only was it the strategy of defense counsel to devalue the decedent as a person and mother, but the surviving relatives, who were teaching the child how to hate her deceased mother, would rather have the mother’s name destroyed than have the child receive compensation. After the expert deposition, (followed by threats from the family), a sizeable settlement was reached that would allow this child a brighter future by providing protected educational funds but also the financial means for one caring relative to make legal attempts to remove her from this poisonous situation.

A family owned chain of day care centers were the subject of litigation based upon the clear and admitted error of an employee, who left a preschool aged child behind on a field trip. The child’s family claimed that the child suffered from severe post traumatic disorder and demanded a settlement for life long injuries. Retained by the defense, a review of the medical and mental health records showed that the child’s therapist was basing her findings of damages upon only parental reports, not actual observed symptoms, and that the parents themselves had personality issues and behaviors that would strongly indicate they manipulated the child. Instead of a family losing their hard earned business and livelihood, the case was settled for a minimal amount, and in a cost effective manner for the defense.

After evaluating a 17 year old who was convicted of attempting to destroy his school with explosives, worked diligently with his mother and the juvenile facility so that he received the correct medication for bipolar disorder that was diagnosed during the evaluation. He was released early as his behavior remarkably improved. He later translated his daredevil personality and mechanical skills to become an underwater explosives expert, and 15 years later has a paid off home, a “tricked out” truck, and a happy family.