Published in The Legal Intelligencer
September 30, 2024
By Larry Coben, Anapol Weiss
Excerpts from the article:
No one has ever attempted any sort of retrospective study of the relationship between helmet design and the frequency or nature of injury. And yet the issue of the efficacy of helmet safety effects millions of Americans.
Approximately 47 million Americans bicycle on a regular basis. In 2015, in the United States, over 1,000 bicyclists died and there were almost 338,000 bicycle-related injuries. A meta-analysis of bicycle helmet efficacy suggests that 42% of brain injury was not protected by helmets.
More than 13 million Americans regularly ride motorcycles. Helmet use in motorcycling generally reduces the risk of death by 37% and reduces the risk of head injury by 69%.
Over 5 million Americans play football and about 50% of all sports concussions occur in football.
Injuries attributable to helmet use and design generally fall into two main categories: head injuries and spinal cord injuries. While studies have repeatedly documented that the probability of head and neck injury is significantly greater when not wearing a helmet, no one knows precisely how many people suffer head or neck injury each year because of poorly designed helmets. No one has ever attempted any sort of retrospective study of the relationship between helmet design and the frequency or nature of injury. Lacking any reasonably sound statistical method to correlate injury to helmet design, counsel is relegated to a case-by-case review.
Mr. Coben’s article covers the following subjects:
- Injury Mechanics When Wearing a Helmet
- Helmet Design
- Helmet-Related Injuries
- Design Issues and Proximate Cause Issues
To read the full article in The Legal Intelligencer, click here.
