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Traumatic Brain Injuries in Bicycle Accidents
A cyclist can suffer a traumatic brain injury even when there is no obvious head injury at first. The rider may leave the emergency room only to discover days later that something is wrong. These injuries can be especially difficult because the cyclist may look fine while struggling with work, family responsibilities, and ordinary daily activities.
The Law Office of Mark A. Siesel represents cyclists and others who have suffered traumatic brain injuries in Westchester County, the Hudson Valley, New York City, and surrounding counties. Mark Siesel has practiced personal injury law since 1986, currently devoting his practice to injured plaintiffs. He has received a 5.0 out of 5.0 rating from clients on Avvo and eight fellow attorneys have endorsed him on that platform.
How Head Injuries Happen in Bicycle Accidents
The brain is soft tissue suspended in fluid inside the skull. In a bicycle accident, a sudden impact can cause the head to accelerate, decelerate, or rotate very quickly. The skull moves with the head, but the brain can continue moving for an instant inside it. That movement can stretch and strain brain tissue and disrupt the connections between brain cells.
A direct blow to the head can cause a brain injury, but a cyclist who is thrown from a bicycle or struck by a vehicle can experience enough rapid movement of the head to cause a concussion or other traumatic brain injury even without an obvious head wound or skull fracture.
A helmet can reduce the risk of a serious head injury, but it cannot prevent every concussion or traumatic brain injury.
Why Can a CT Scan Be Normal?
One of the confusing things about a concussion is that a CT scan can be normal even when the person has a genuine brain injury.
CT scans are very good at finding certain problems that require immediate attention, such as bleeding in or around the brain or a skull fracture. But a concussion often involves changes in how the brain is functioning rather than an injury that can be seen on a routine CT scan.
For that reason, doctors diagnose concussions based not only on imaging, but also on what happened during the accident, the person’s symptoms, and a neurological examination.
Symptoms to Watch for After a Bicycle Accident
Symptoms may begin immediately after the crash or become more noticeable over the following hours or days. They can include:
- Headaches or pressure in the head
- Dizziness or problems with balance
- Nausea or vomiting
- Blurred or double vision
- Sensitivity to light or noise
- Difficulty concentrating
- Memory problems
- Feeling mentally slowed down or “foggy”
- Unusual fatigue or changes in sleep
- Irritability, anxiety, or other changes in mood
- Loss of consciousness, even briefly
- Confusion or difficulty remembering the accident
- Problems with speech, coordination, or movement
Any potential brain injury should be evaluated immediately. If you have been in a bicycle accident and may have hit your head, treat it as a potential emergency and seek medical help. Too many people brush off a head injury only to find themselves in the ER with a life-threatening condition. Prompt evaluation and treatment can save your life.
What to Do After a Bicycle Accident
After a bicycle accident, deal with the medical issues first. If you struck your head, feel dizzy or confused, have significant pain, or simply do not feel right, get checked. Do not let the fact that you were able to stand up or speak normally convince you that you are fine. Some injuries are not obvious at the scene.
If you are able, there are also a few things worth doing before you leave:
- Call the police if a vehicle was involved.
- Get the driver’s name, insurance information, license plate number, and contact information.
- Get the names and phone numbers of witnesses.
- Photograph the bicycle, the vehicle, the roadway, and the surrounding area. Include traffic signs, signals, road defects, skid marks, or anything else that may have contributed to the crash.
- Keep your bicycle and helmet in their post-accident condition. Do not repair or discard them.
- If you receive medical treatment, tell the doctor exactly what happened and mention every symptom you are experiencing, including dizziness, headache, confusion, nausea, vision problems, or memory problems.
It is also worth writing down what you remember about the accident while it is still fresh. Bicycle crashes often happen in seconds, and details that seem obvious immediately afterward can be surprisingly difficult to recall weeks later.
What If Concussion Symptoms Start After You Leave the Hospital?
This happens. A cyclist may be examined in the emergency room, have a normal CT scan, and go home believing that the worst is over. Later that evening or even the next day headaches, dizziness, nausea, unusual fatigue, sensitivity to light or noise, or problems concentrating may begin.
If this happens to you, contact your doctor or return for medical care. Tell the provider that you were recently in a bicycle accident and describe what has changed since you were first examined. Do not minimize symptoms simply because they seem subjective. Difficulty following a conversation, forgetting things, becoming unusually irritable, or needing much longer to complete familiar tasks can all matter after a head injury.
Some changes should not wait for a routine appointment. A worsening headache, repeated vomiting, seizure, increasing confusion, slurred speech, weakness or numbness, unequal pupils, or unusual difficulty waking or staying awake requires prompt emergency evaluation.
For symptoms that persist, keep track of what is actually happening from day to day. Rather than simply writing “headache” or “memory problems,” note what the symptom prevented you from doing, such as doing work or eating a meal. Those details give a doctor a much clearer picture of the problem.
And if the hospital CT was normal, tell the doctor that too. A CT scan is primarily used after a head injury to look for problems such as bleeding in the brain or a skull fracture. Many concussions do not produce abnormalities that appear on a routine CT scan.
New York Law Protects Cyclists
New York law does not treat a bicycle as something that simply has to stay out of the way of motor vehicles. Under Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1231, a person riding a bicycle on the roadway generally has the same rights, and many of the same responsibilities, as the driver of a vehicle.
The fact that someone was riding a bicycle rather than driving a car does not, by itself, give the motorist the right of way.
Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1146 goes further. It requires drivers to use due care to avoid colliding with bicyclists and to sound the horn when necessary to warn them. When a driver fails to exercise due care and causes physical injury or serious physical injury to a cyclist, the statute also provides for traffic penalties and, in specified circumstances, a rebuttable presumption concerning causation.
Depending on how a crash happened, liability may turn on whether the driver was keeping a proper lookout, yielded when required, left enough room, checked before turning or opening a door, or otherwise took reasonable steps to avoid the collision. New York courts have specifically recognized a motorist’s obligation to maintain a reasonably vigilant lookout for bicyclists and use reasonable care to avoid hitting them.
New York generally follows comparative-negligence principles, but current law contains an important exception for personal-injury actions subject to Article 51 of the Insurance Law. In those cases, a claimant’s culpable conduct can bar recovery if it exceeds the culpable conduct of the defendant or the combined culpable conduct of the defendants against whom recovery is sought.
Compensation After a Bicycle Accident
When another person’s negligence causes a bicycle accident, a personal injury claim may seek compensation for the losses caused by the crash. Depending on the circumstances and the injuries involved, those damages may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Medical expenses, including expected future medical costs
- Lost wages and loss of future earnings
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent disability or limitations
When a bicycle accident involves a motor vehicle, New York’s No-Fault Law can also affect how medical expenses are paid and whether the injured cyclist may recover damages for pain and suffering. In claims between “covered persons,” recovery for non-economic loss generally requires a serious injury as defined by New York’s Insurance Law.
Frequently Asked Questions About Traumatic Brain Injuries in Bicycle Accidents
What if I had a concussion before this bicycle accident?
A prior concussion does not automatically prevent a claim for a new brain injury. It does make the medical history important. If you had returned to normal activities before the bicycle accident and then developed a new set of symptoms afterward, records documenting your condition before and after the collision can help establish that distinction.
Why is my family noticing changes that I don’t see in myself?
Brain injuries can affect self-awareness as well as behavior. A person may sincerely believe that nothing significant has changed while a spouse or other family member notices unusual impatience, impulsive decisions or difficulty following conversations. Those observations can give treating professionals information about changes that are difficult to capture during a short office visit.
What is neuropsychological testing, and why might it matter after a bicycle accident?
Neuropsychological testing examines areas such as memory, attention, processing speed and executive functioning through standardized tasks. It is different from asking someone whether they have trouble concentrating. When clinically appropriate, testing can help identify patterns of cognitive strength and weakness and assist with treatment recommendations.
Can a brain injury affect my ability to drive or bike even if I wasn’t physically injured badly?
It can. Driving and riding a bicycle depend on attention, reaction time, visual processing and judgment, which are the very abilities that may be affected after a brain injury. A person who can walk normally and move both arms may still have difficulty processing several things happening at once in traffic.
What if the accident has changed my personality or my relationship with my family?
When those changes are persistent and medically connected to the injury, they deserve to be documented as carefully as physical limitations. You may be able to pursue compensation for these losses as well.
Should I delete social media posts showing me exercising, traveling or spending time with friends?
No. Deleting relevant material after a claim arises can create a separate problem. At the same time, social media deserves caution because a photograph captures a fraction of a day. Rather than trying to curate the past, preserve existing material and be careful about what you post while a claim is pending.
What if I developed depression or anxiety after the brain injury?
Psychological consequences can be part of the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury, but the legal claim needs the same thing the medical problem does: appropriate professional evaluation and documentation. If emotional or behavioral symptoms are interfering with everyday life, they should be discussed with a qualified healthcare provider. Treatment records can then establish how the condition was evaluated and what care was considered necessary.
What if I can do something once but cannot do it consistently anymore?
If you can do something sometimes but not consistently, it can affect your ability to work and take part in daily tasks, and you can pursue a claim related to those losses. Being able to attend one family event does not establish an ability to tolerate a five-day workweek. A careful TBI evaluation looks at endurance, frequency and what happens after an activity.
Consult With The Law Office of Mark A. Siesel
The Law Office of Mark A. Siesel represents bicycle-accident and brain-injury clients throughout Westchester County, New York City, and counties across the Hudson Valley. The firm offers free consultations and handles personal injury matters on a contingency-fee basis, meaning you do not pay legal fees until and unless we recover for you.
If you or a family member suffered a traumatic brain injury in a bicycle accident, contact our law firm for a free consultation. An early consultation is important because it gives you important information about next steps.