Abstract

Two groups, each of 21 cases of severe blunt head injury, were compared. Patients in one group were pursuing claims for financial compensation while patients in the other were not. Patients were assessed on cognitive tests, and both patients and relatives were interviewed at 3, 6 and 12 months after injury. There were few differences between claimants and non-claimants: post-concussional symptoms were common in both, cognitive performance was equal, and the reports given by relatives of changes in the patients were very similar. However, the reports given by patients themselves differed with claimants reporting slightly more symptoms than non-claimants.