The Effect of Not Wearing a Helmet on Personal Injury Cases Involving Bicycles.

 

In the event that you are injured while riding your bike, even if the incident that led to the injury is not your fault, you are likely to be found partially liable. Section 184 of the Motor Vehicle Act states that anyone who does not wear an approved helmet has committed an offence pursuant to that act.

This issue was dealt with in a recent Supreme Court of British Columbia case:

http://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2015/2015bcsc560/2015bcsc560.html?searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAbaGVsbWV0IHBlcnNvbmFsIGluanVyeSBiaWtlAAAAAAE&resultIndex=3

Here a young woman was struck by a motor vehicle while riding a bicycle; she suffered a brain injury. There were complicating factors here, such as the bicyclist being partially at fault for the accident and not using light despite riding at night. The judge, however, made it clear that the bicyclists failure to wear a helmet created a “grave” risk. The bicyclist was found 65% liable for this accident. This case illustrates that failing to wear a helmet while riding on a bicycle not only increases the risk of injury but limits the ability to recover at trial.

The good news is that attitudes towards wearing helmets are changing. A new report from Statistics Canada states that the majority of teens in British Columbia are wearing helmets every time they ride a bicycle:

http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Most+teens+wearing+helmets+when+biking/111626

 

 

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