Bicycle Helmet Laws in Toronto
The legislature has recognized that people are adults and to a certain degree, they are entitled to make their own decisions regarding safety when riding a bicycle.
If a person is over the age of 18, they are not legally obligated to wear a helmet. For anyone under the age of 18, however, it is mandatory and the person could be subject to a fine if they are not wearing a helmet. If the person is under the age of 16, the parents of the minor could be subject to a fine if the minor is not wearing a helmet.
Beyond these penalties, however, not wearing a helmet can also have a detrimental impact on a bike injury lawsuit should an accident occur.
Potential Consequences of Not Wearing a Helmet
If a person is over the age of 18 and they are not wearing a helmet, they cannot be fined. However, if a person got into an accident and the person was not wearing a helmet and was disobeying Toronto bicycle helmet laws, that individual made an active decision to not wear a helmet even though they know that it could have protected them in an accident.
If the person sustains a head injury and has decided not to wear a helmet, that is going to go to have consequences on their case and their contributory negligence. The value of their case is going to decrease because, arguably, if a person had been wearing a helmet, they may not have had head injuries.
Toronto helmet laws exist for a reason, to reasonably protect bicyclists. A person can have minor injuries in a bicycle accident or they can have very serious injuries in a bicycle accident. It all depends on how the accident unfolds and whether or not a person is wearing a helmet.
Legal Impact
When a person has a bicycle accident, an attorney is going to ask if there is negligence on the part of the driver of the vehicle that has hit the bicycle or if there is negligence on the part of the bicyclist themselves. The lawyer will inquire whether the cyclist was wearing a helmet.
If a person is not wearing a helmet in a bicycle accident, it can impact their ability to pursue a case. If the person sustains a serious head injury, then the courts could apportion a certain degree of responsibility for that individual’s own. For example, the court may determine that because the accident victim was not wearing a helmet, the person is deemed to be 25% responsible for their own injuries. If the court awards $100,000 in damages, that amount will be reduced by 25%.
The amount that a person is deemed to be contributorily negligent is the percentage the court will reduce their compensation.
Working with a Lawyer
If a person has been injured in a bicycle accident in Toronto and they are not at fault for that accident, then they have legal rights to pursue compensation against the individual who caused the accident, and they need to contact a lawyer as soon as possible to begin their case. Whether or not they were following bicycle helmet laws in Toronto will matter in their case, and it is important that they have an attorney working with them who is able to defend their rights in their case.
If a person has been very seriously injured and they cannot work from a bicycle accident, they need a lawyer in their corner to help them get the compensation that they need to live or to sustain their life.
