Contributory Negligence in Virginia Bicycle Accident Cases

There are a variety of reasons for not wearing a helmet in Virginia that can impact someone’s case even when it is legal not to wear a helmet.

For example, an adult riding in certain areas does not have to wear a helmet but it may be viewed as detrimental to their case if they suffered a serious head injury and if experts conclude that the injury could have been easily prevented with a bicycle helmet

An experienced lawyer can assist an individual in determining the role of contributory negligence as it pertains to their specific Virginia bicycle accident case.

Role of Contributory Negligence

Contributory negligence is a doctrine that says if a person contributes to their own injury, even if as little as 1%, they are legally barred from making a recovery.

The majority of states follow the doctrine of comparative negligence, which is, if the individual is at fault in any degree, that degree of fault is deducted from their percentile of recovery. For example, if a person fails to keep a proper lookout and they are at 10% at fault and the other driver is 90% at fault, then the individual can make a 90% recovery.

Contributory negligence often works in the opposite manner. If a person is at all responsible, for example, if they fail to use a proper hand signal while making a turn and as a result, a car does not know which way they are going and they strike the person, that could be viewed as a complete bar to the individual’s recovery.

Likewise, if the bicyclist ignores or rolls through a stop sign or a traffic signal, which is very common, it may be contributory negligence.  Even if another person commits a blatant traffic violation and causes the accident, the bicyclist may be viewed to have contributed to an accident and therefore be barred from recovery.

Virginia follows the contributory negligence rules in all accident cases. A lawyer can help an individual determine how contributory negligence applies to their bicycle accident case.

Laws Applying to Helmets

Contributory negligence also says that if a person has a degree of fault for an accident then they are barred from recovery. Helmet laws typically do not have to do with liability. For example, if an expert would say the injuries could have been easily prevented by this measure and the person fail to take that measure, then there is some argument and contributory negligence may apply. So there is certainly a place for contributory negligence in the realm of bike helmet laws but it is not clear cut.

For example, if an expert says the injuries could have been easily prevented by this measure and the person fail to take that measure, then there is some argument and contributory negligence may apply. So there is certainly a place for contributory negligence in the realm of bike helmet laws but it is not clear cut.

An attorney can aid an individual in explaining how much contributory negligence plays a part in their Virginia bicycle accident case.

Importance of Helmet Laws

Certainly, whenever a bicyclist is injured especially if a motor vehicle or a truck has struck them, the fatality statistics are striking. However, bicycle helmets are shown to dramatically increase the chances of survival if a person is involved in a serious bicycle accident.

That is one of the reasons why bicycle helmets are deemed to be so important today. They increase the chances of survival as well as chances to avoid serious life-changing injuries.

A seasoned lawyer can help an individual in explaining the importance of helmet laws in Virginia, and how contributory negligence may apply to their accident case.