So, I am currently recovering from a mild concussion following a lovely bike ride through Plymouth meeting. I was finishing a 45 mile ride and was trying to figure out which car was going to go through a three way stop when I think I hit an unexpected section of milling and paving. I flipped sideways and cracked my helmet and banged my head, wrist, butt, etc. A lot of people stopped to check on me, which was nice but also told me the crash was worse than I thought. There is some research that helmets with the MIPS system reduce concussions, but I had chosen one without MIPS because it looked cooler. I am not sure that it made a difference, but I am going back to MIPS. I have crashed before and had concussions before. It is just part of riding. Anyway, I’m in one piece. I ride about 1800 miles a year, but many of them are in the metaverse in my basement. It’s dangerous outside.
Anyway, concussions are often hard to value for personal injury cases. Most resolve in three months or less. Some linger for 6 months. A few will come with post-concussion syndrome that involves convergence disorder. This is a very concerning condition where your eyes simply do not focus well post-concussion and that creates all sorts of problems in our reading and device driven world. Interestingly, while concussions are hard for the average person to understand or relate to, convergence disorder is diagnosable and objectively provable. This makes my job easier. Saying that you feel like you are in a fog, or nauseous or light sensitive or have headaches, however true, is hard to turn into a real big settlement or verdict. Another condition that is worrisome post-concussion is vertigo. Often, vertigo is harder to objectively establish, but most people suffering vertigo would not wish it on their enemies and are severely compromised.