As a Californian who enjoys riding bikes, you are likely well-aware of the major dangers that exist for cyclists like you. Sharing the road with drivers of larger vehicles can lead to severe and dangerous crashes that tend to harm bicyclists the most.
One common injury cyclists experience after a crash is a traumatic brain injury. These injuries can impact you in the present and may have lasting effects into your future, too.
Short-term effects of TBIs
Mayo Clinic looks at the short and long-term impacts of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Short-term effects can last day, weeks or months. Long-term effects tend to last years or even lifetimes, in some cases.
The immediate symptoms generally fade in severity and duration over time. These are also some of the most obvious and severe. Examples include convulsions, seizures, coordination loss and a loss of consciousness. Cognitive symptoms include agitation, slurred speech, profound confusion and even coma.
Long-term TBI impacts
But long-term impacts often involve changes to personality, too. TBI sufferers often become easy to agitate and have tempers they cannot control well. This may lead to you lashing out at loved ones without meaning to.
As a TBI sufferer, you will likely also struggle with memory function. Short-term memory loss is one of the most common effects of brain injury. In most cases, some of your memory restores with time. However, you may have a permanent disability when it comes to memory storage and retrieval. You may have to make alterations to your way of life to accommodate for these changes. Some accommodations are costly as well, which is why many in your position choose to seek compensation options.