Clearwater Bicycle Accident Injuries

A bicycle accident can be a startling and terrifying experience. Not only must an individual deal with the trauma of an accident, they also must deal with any injuries they have sustained and treated those injuries. The severity of Clearwater bicycle accident injuries ranges but it includes broken bones, torn ligaments, traumatic brain injuries, sprain/strain injuries, and herniations of the back and neck.

The medical costs associated with treating these injuries are exorbitant, especially since they are unanticipated costs. An experienced bicycle accident lawyer can help you pursue damages, and hold the responsible parties accountable.

Aspects of an Accident that Can Aggravate Injuries

One of the biggest factors that sets bicycle accidents apart from car accidents is that a cyclist does not have the protection of a car. When an accident occurs, a person’s body is making direct contact with a moving motor vehicle. Additionally, because the bicycle and the person on the bicycle can become a projectile in an accident, serious Clearwater bicycle accident injuries can result if they are thrown onto the street or if they hit a telephone pole, tree, or another car.

Bicycle accidents can be more serious than car accidents because a person riding a bicycle does not have the same protection as somebody driving a car. If a car comes into physical contact with the cyclist’s body in an accident, they can be projected off of their bicycle and land very far from where the bicycle accident occurred. They may slide on the street or collide with another object, which can create even more serious bicycle accident injuries in Clearwater than the initial impact with the car did.

Defining Traumatic Brain Injury

A traumatic brain injury is an alteration in a person’s brain that results from an impact to the head. Often an MRI, CT scan, or another testing will show bleeding or swelling in the brain. Anything that impacts a cyclist’s brain as a result of an accident could be considered a traumatic brain injury.

Many times when a bicycle accident occurs, the rider can become a projectile from the bicycle when the motor vehicle hits it, and that can result in an impact between the cyclist’s head and the road, the sidewalk, or some other object. Whether or not the rider is wearing a helmet, a traumatic brain injury can occur if their head comes into contact with a stationary object, or even another moving car. If the cyclist is not wearing a helmet, it becomes far more likely that a traumatic brain injury might occur.

Severity of Traumatic Brain Injuries

A traumatic brain injury can potentially lead to a permanent or temporary impairment of cognitive, physical, or psychological functions with an associated diminished or altered state of consciousness. Traumatic brain injuries can be difficult to correct or to treat. The brain is a delicate organ, and many times doctors will not know exactly how the brain is going to react to certain treatment.

Treatments do not always get to the root of the problem, and they do not always work the same for everybody. When a person has swelling or bleeding in the brain, sometimes they need treatment to control it, and sometimes it can heal itself. Sometimes surgery is required, and sometimes it is not. There are many different factors at play in a traumatic brain injury, which can make them difficult to diagnose and treat properly.

If a bicycle accident victim exhibits cognitive or psychological differences, is losing consciousness, or otherwise acting differently, they may have sustained a traumatic brain injury as a result of the accident.

Long-Term Consequences of an Injury

Broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, and soft tissue injuries to the neck and back can have substantial long-term consequences. They can make a person unable to work for a long period of time. In some cases, a bicycle accident victim may be forced to go on disability or stop working altogether. Bicycle accidents can affect a victim’s ability to care for his or her children or her loved ones, leading to long-term financial hardship.

Doctors take bicycle accidents very seriously because the resulting injuries can be severe. Doctors attending to a person injured in a bicycle accident will be looking for signs of a traumatic brain injury, which require immediate attention.

If a cyclist’s head makes an impact with anything in an accident, it could result in a traumatic brain injury. Time is of the essence in these cases, so it’s important to get an injured cyclist to the emergency room so that a doctor can look at them as quickly as possible.

Broken Bones

Broken bones can occur as a result of bicycle accident because many times when a motor vehicle versus bicycle accidents happens, the motor vehicle is coming into contact with the person’s body itself, rather than a piece of machinery surrounding the person. Additionally, many people either fall over or are projected from their bicycle in an accident, which can create broken bones when they hit the ground or some other object.

Consequences of Broken Bones

Broken bones can have lasting consequences even after they have healed, and they can require surgery to fix. A bicycle accident victim could require having plates, pins, or screws installed, which can create the risk of infection. Additionally, broken bones can result in long-term loss of the ability to work and to earn in the future. Treatment for broken bones can be painful and may require months of physical or occupational therapy. In many cases, the person’s body will never be quite the same, and following an accident, a bone that is broken may be left weaker than it would have been if the accident had not occurred.

Value of a Lawyer

A bicycle accident in Clearwater can result in injuries that range from being mild to quite severe. Injuries sustained during a bicycle accident can have long-term consequences even after they have healed. Having to deal with the impact of these injuries is hard enough, without having to also shoulder the financial weight of treatment, especially in instances where a bicycle injury results in a person not being able to work. That is why working with a capable bicycle injury lawyer is of the utmost importance. If you have sustained injuries following a bicycle accident, get in contact with a tenacious injury attorney who will fight for you.