A federal court has ruled that diffusion-tensor MRI (DTI-MRI) scans are not "junk science" and are admissible in court as evidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
The ruling came in the case of a woman who slipped on a puddle of water and fell on a cruise ship operated by Celebrity Cruises, according to an article by the National Law Review. The woman had a case of mild traumatic brain injury and filed a lawsuit against the company.
A radiologist retained as an expert witness by the plaintiff reviewed the woman's DTI-MRI scan, in addition to other records, and confirmed that in his belief she had experienced a mild TBI due to the fall. Celebrity Cruises moved to bar the radiologist's testimony, charging that DTI was "junk science," according to the article.
This argument was rejected by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which found that DTI results have been deemed reliable and admissible by courts around the U.S. for almost 10 years. What's more, DTI has been subject to peer review and publication, and it is generally seen as an acceptable method for TBI detection.
