Is My Child Required to Wear a Bicycle Helmet? What if My Child is Injured but is Not Wearing a Bicycle Helmet?

Is my child required to wear a bicycle helmet in the state of Florida? Florida and many other states require children under a certain age to wear a bicycle helmet while riding a bicycle. This is a good law that seeks to encourage parents and children to have bicycle I'm at some place for children, a child under the age of 16 is required to wear a bicycle outfit while riding a bicycle. Florida Statutes Section 316.2065 3 (d) provides as follows:

(d) A bicycle rider or passenger who is under 16 years of age must wear a bicycle helmet that is properly fitted and is fastened securely upon the passenger’s head by a strap and that meets the federal safety standard for bicycle helmets, final rule, 16 C.F.R. part 1203. A helmet purchased before October 1, 2012, which meets the standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z 90.4 Bicycle Helmet Standards), the standards of the Snell Memorial Foundation (1984 Standard for Protective Headgear for Use in Bicycling), or any other nationally recognized standards for bicycle helmets adopted by the department may continue to be worn by a bicycle rider or passenger until January 1, 2016. As used in this subsection, the term “passenger” includes a child who is riding in a trailer or semitrailer attached to a bicycle.

In many instances the wearing of the helmet can help prevent or reduce the severity of personal injury when there is a bicycle accident. If there is a bicycle accident, the child's i failure to wear a helmet can, in limited instances, serve as a defense in a case involving a bicycle accident. Let's say a child is injured as a result of a bicycle that accident and the child is under the age of 16 years old. If the child suffered a head injury and it can be proved that a helmet would have reduce the severity or prevented the injury altogether, the failure to wear a helmet can be a defense or argument for the at fault driver. Let's take another scenario. A child is injured as a result of a bicycle accident and the child is not wearing a helmet. In this automobile/bicycle accident, the child suffers a fractured leg. In this case, the failure to wear a helmet should not be a factor or defense in the case because the helmet has nothing to do with the child's personal injuries Because of the complexities of bicycle accident to the State of Florida, it is often helpful to contact a Florida Child Injury Lawyer / Florida Bicycle Injury Lawyer for advice, consultation, and legal representation.

The personal injury attorneys at Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. have represented injured bicyc lists and injured children for over 50 years. All consultations are free of charge and all injury cases accepted for representation are handled on a contingency basis - No Recovery - No Attorney Fees. Contact Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. today if you have a question about a bicycle accident, pedestrian accident, automobile accident, or other incident causing personal injuries.

The book titled - The ABCs of Child Injury - Legal Rights of the Injured Child - What Every Parent Should Know - has chapters on Automobile Accidents, Medical Bills / Treatment, and other topics. You can get this book for free at The ABCs of Child Injury.