Cycling can be a great way to get around and stay active year-round, but it also can come with potential safety risks. One of the easiest ways to mitigate these risks is by wearing a bike helmet. Although wearing a bicycle helmet is not legally required in Ontario for those over the age of 18, besides being unsafe, not wearing a helmet can impact the amount of compensation you receive if you are involved in an accident while cycling.
Biking without a helmet can be grounds for a court to find a cyclist contributorily negligent for their injuries. This means that even if another party caused the accident, you may still be found partly responsible for any injuries.
However, failing to wear a helmet is not sufficient to be found contributorily negligent. For a court to make this finding, it must be proven by the defendant that the injuries the plaintiff sustained would have been prevented or reduced if the plaintiff had worn a helmet. In St. Marthe v. O’Connor (2019 ONSC), the plaintiff was not wearing a helmet when struck by the defendant’s car. Despite this, the defendant was found to be solely responsible for the accident because the plaintiff’s injuries were unrelated to the head and there was no causal nexus between the injuries and lack of helmet.
If you were involved in an accident while cycling, even if you were not wearing a helmet, you may still be able to receive money for your injuries. Call us today, at no cost, to discuss potential next steps.