Expectations of Lawyers With Regard to Neuropsychological Evaluations in Motor Vehicle Accident Claims

This article aims to indicate what the current expectations of the South African Courts are, as viewed by lawyers and advocates with regard to neuropsychological evaluations in motor vehicle accident claims in South Africa. Purposive sampling of 26 experienced legal practitioners in the Gauteng and North West provinces was done. They were identified by means of a list available at the High Court indicating which practitioners work in the context of motor vehicle accident claims. These participants have at least 10 years' experience in matters arising from motor vehicle accident claims. Semistructured interviews were conducted which were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by means of thematic analysis. The results indicate that legal practitioners find neuropsychological reports to be too long, owing to unnecessary repetition. They expect more structure in the document and less jargon and fewer technical terms. According to the legal practitioners there is too much focus on the test results and too little elaboration on the behavioral implications of injuries. They also expect reports to clearly illustrate the link between collateral findings and the neuropsychological sequelae. To make the information more understandable the lawyers expect the forensic neuropsychologist to report the test descriptions and results together. Findings must be clear to provide a clear psychological prognosis (i.e., indicate the difference between pre- and postmorbid) to determine loss of earnings. In conclusion, it is recommended that neuropsychological practitioners receive more specialized training to satisfy the expectations of the courts.