| Malingering of brain injury or damage, and malingering | | | | the time of the offense issues. In civil proceedings |
| of mental illness are common concerns that must be | | | | the possibility of malingering brain damage is often |
| considered in all litigation involving mental health | | | | seen in personal injury cases involving accidents and |
| professionals. Malingering in a forensic mental health | | | | malpractice which may have resulted in brain damage. |
| context is a word which usually refers to deception | | | | Malingering of other types of mental illness in civil |
| intended to fake or exaggerate symptoms of a | | | | proceedings are also common concerns in claims of |
| genuine mental illness, brain injury, or brain damage. | | | | post traumatic stress disorder and other conditions |
| That is the basic meaning, but in actual practice it is | | | | which may arise out of traumatic events or loss of |
| more complicated than that. Malingering is actually an | | | | independence. |
| inference made about someone's motivation when | | | | The frequency of malingering found in the available |
| there is an indication the information they are | | | | literature indicates that it is neither prevalent nor |
| providing is not reliable or consistent with what is | | | | particularly rare. There is considerable variation from |
| known about them and the condition. | | | | one setting to another, but overall the frequency of |
| The possibility of malingering must be considered in | | | | malingering mental illness or brain injury in legal |
| every forensic mental health evaluation because | | | | proceedings is probably between 15-18 % of cases. |
| there is always the potential for a person to try and | | | | Most people involved in litigation do not exaggerate |
| "beat the system" by attempting to exaggerate their | | | | or fabricate their conditions, but the problem is |
| symptoms, or present with symptoms of a condition | | | | common enough that it cannot be ignored. |
| that they do not actually suffer. The process of | | | | Attorneys on both sides of any case involving mental |
| assessment of malingering has come a very long way | | | | health issues should be aware of the issues |
| since the time of professionals just going on their | | | | associated with malingering, and be certain that any |
| "gut feelings" and their clinical experience. In current | | | | mental health expert they use understands and |
| forensic mental health practice there are a wide | | | | considers such issues in the context of giving a |
| variety of techniques available to mental health | | | | professional opinion in legal proceedings. It almost |
| professionals to assess the issues related to possible | | | | goes without saying that mental health professionals, |
| malingering. | | | | such as forensic psychologists and psychiatrists, |
| The issue of possible malingering of mental illness or | | | | should be familiar with the issues associated with |
| brain damage is present in both criminal and civil | | | | possible malingering, and be prepared to answer |
| proceedings. In criminal proceedings it is most often | | | | questions about how they addressed the possibility |
| seen in competency to proceed and mental status at | | | | of malingering. |