Recently the Washington state legislature adopted a law that defines “traumatic brain injury” as:
…injury to the brain caused by physical trauma resulting from, but not limited to, incidents involving motor vehicles, sporting events, falls, and physical assaults. Documentation of traumatic brain injury shall be based on adequate medical history, neurological examination, mental status testing, or neuropsychological evaluation. A traumatic brain injury shall be of sufficient severity to result in impairments in one or more of the following areas: cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; or information processing. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma. See RCW 74.31.010(4).
This definition also mirrors the one adopted by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (formerly the Education of the Handicapped Act) and codified at 34 C.F.R. § 300.7(b)(12).
The Washington legislature has also recognized that TBI “can cause a wide range of functional changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, or emotions,” and that the condition “can also cause epilepsy and increase the risk for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain disorders that become more prevalent with age.” The legislature has further declared that “the impact of a traumatic brain injury on the individual and family can be devastating.” See RCW 74.31.005.
I am encouraged that the state of Washington has formally recognized that a traumatic brain injury is a serious problem that can have long-lasting consequences for the individual victim and the victim’s entire family. I see this in my practice with my own clients every day. We have only recently begun to establish programs to help TBI survivors deal with this potentially devastating condition.
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