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Among the many excellent points brought out in Dr. Dana's article on "Wounds of the Head and Compensation Laws," the one that refers to final compensation seems to be of especial importance. There should be no objection to final compensation by the state for such injuries as can be definitely measured or determined; for the loss of an eye or a limb, a prompt final settlement seems to be the most suitable compensation.
It is not of these cases, however, that Dr. Dana writes. On the contrary, the symptoms complained of by the majority of the survivors of head injuries are rarely of a character to be evaluated accurately by the physician, except in so far as he believes the statements of the patient or of his witnesses. They belong to the order called functional, or to "conduct disorders" as Dana prefers to call them, and, after a reasonable time