[Medicolegal assessment of post-traumatic vertigo].

Post-traumatic vertigo refers to a group of different disorders which occur following trauma, mainly closed head injury and whiplash injury of the cervical spine. Aside from headaches, vertigo is the most common symptom in this group of patients. In general, there are two main groups of patients with post-traumatic vertigo: those with documented vestibular dysfunctions and those without. The most common post-traumatic vestibular disorders are benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo, labyrinthine concussion, canal dehiscence and otolithic lesions. Some of these disorders are characterized by spontaneous improvement or recovery over weeks or months and some may also be treated effectively. A number of patients, however, develop phobic postural vertigo requiring psychiatric or psychosomatic exploration.