Our interest in brain injury has come from long experience of representing cyclists and we are perfectly placed to deal with arguments against cyclists for failing to wear a cycle helmet. It is at the cutting edge of what we do.

Not only does a defendant insurer have to show that the head injury would have been reduced from a neurological perspective, they need to show it from an engineering perspective as well. ( Smith v Finch 2009 ).

Accordingly, we have a cycle helmet engineering expert, Bryan Chinn, as well as a range of medical experts to provide medical expertise in our cases.

Such is the range of symptoms that the following experts are almost always essential in brain injury

• Neurological, to assess severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Neuropsychological, to test intellectual function that has often been impaired
• Neuropsychiatric,  to assess mental capacity
• Neuro rehabilitation, to advise on the most appropriate rehabilitation package for us to fight for
• Neuro Otological, to assess balance, often impaired following a TBI
• Neuro Radiologist, to assess radiology , CT , MRI and any further scans that may need arranging.

There are so many issues that arise following a head injury sustained by a cyclist.

The severity of the TBI varies widely of course and often the outcome is that the cyclist can return to work but cannot perform their previous role to anything like the same standard, thereby limiting career progression and possibilities.

Whilst it is dangerous to generalise, our experience is long and it is almost always the case that cyclists perform intellectual rigorous tasks at work and these are often beyond them following a TBI.

It is the subtle brain injury therefore that is often what we are dealing with although we are also highly experienced in catastrophic brain injury that renders a cyclist unable to walk unaided, unable to talk and dependent on carers for the rest of their life.

In such cases, we have been instructed to act as deputies by the Court of Protection where the cyclist is unable to manage their own affairs following the accident.

On a personal note , it is the medicine rather than the law that has always interested Kevin , the founder of Cycle Legal ,more in his work, and brain injuries capture this wonderfully, since the medicine and the radiology are so complex.