A CT scan or a CAT scan is a computerized tomography scan, which combines a series of x-ray images taken from different angles and uses computer processing to create cross-sectional images or slices of the person’s body. An experienced and compassionate personal injury lawyer can help somebody to know how to effectively seek out medical professionals for their case, as well as how to utilize any medical evidence, such as that of a CAT scan, for an argument in the courtroom.
An MRI and a CAT scan are used to examine the same conditions of a person’s body. However, a CAT scan or CT scan is more detailed in its findings and can be a better tool to diagnose some injuries, which can be more discrete. CT scans can at times be more involved and more costly than an MRI and thus they are used more sparingly than an MRI.
A CT scan or CAT scan is a very sophisticated test, which offers the best results that afford a radiologist the opportunity to closely review the injured person’s internal organs to determine the cause of the pain. A CAT scan can help diagnose a soft-tissue injury, an internal hemorrhage, or some other internal injury to a non-bony part of a person’s body.
A CAT scan can assist in advancing a personal injury case in that it is a very good tool for the personal injury attorney to use in explaining the nature and extent of the injury sustained by the client. A CAT scan, like an MRI, is an examination of the internal parts of his or her client, and the CAT scan should constitute an objective finding of internal injury that corroborates the subjective complaints of the client.
Much like an MRI, the best form of evidence regarding a CAT scan is the film. When a CAT scan is taken, typically a radiologist with the imaging center reviews the film and creates a report documenting his or her findings.
The reason the film itself is the best form of evidence is that when the issue is ultimately presented to a jury, the expert medical witness can use the CT film to point out the physical injury sustained by the client in the traumatic incident, extrapolate on this information, and explain to the jury how this objective medical finding correlates with the subjective complaints of pain and discomfort of the client. This further allows the expert medical witness to explain the proper medical treatment necessary to treat the objective finding documented on the CT scan.
