Recalled Bicycle Helmets Increase Florida Bicycle Head Injury Risks

Many serious and recreational cyclists know they can reduce their risk of a Florida bicycle head injury by 60%-90% just by wearing a bicycle helmet. But what if the helmet you’re wearing is defective and provides inadequate protection?

Bicycling has never been more popular in Florida than it is now. With its flat terrain, year-round sunshine, and an abundance of nature trails, beaches, and scenic roads to ride, Florida has residents and tourists alike increasingly partaking. But the risk of Florida bicycle head injury is higher than you think – and defective bicycle helmets certainly don’t help.

In the first seven months of 2023, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced at least eight bicycle helmet recalls. These include:

• Giro Merit Bicycle Helmet. Does not meet CPSC federal safety standards for bicycle helmets, and would fail to protect in the event of a crash, posing a heightened risk of head injury.
• Xinerter Teal Adult Bicycle Helmet. Sold exclusively on Amazon from 2020 to 2023, the helmets don’t comply with positional stability and certification requirements of the mandatory federal safety standard for bike helmets, and would fail to protect riders from head injury in the event of a crash. The CPSC has warned consumers to immediately stop using them, cut the straps, and dispose of them so no one else can use them either.
• SQM Bicycle Helmet. Sold on Amazon from 2022 to 2023, the single-sized helmet doesn’t comply with positional stability and certification requirements of federal safety standards. It would fail to protect the head in a bicycle accident or car accident.
• Ventura Adult Bike Helmets. Roughly 1,750 of these helmets have been sold in the U.S., but they don’t provide adequate protection against Florida bicycle head injury risk.
• Hurtle Multi-Purpose Children’s Helmet. About 1,800 of these bicycle helmets for kids were sold – despite failing to meet federal safety standards to ensure protection against brain injuries in the event of a crash.
• Lelinta Multi-Purpose Kids Helmets. These kids’ bicycle helmets, manufactured by Lucky Global and sold exclusively at Walmart.com, don’t comply with federal safety standards and won’t adequately protect a child from the possibility of a serious head injury in the event of a Cape Coral bicycle accident.
• TureClose Bicycle Helmets. These bike helmets don’t comply with federal safety requirements for positional stability, retention system, impact attenuation, or labeling requirements. Although the Chinese seller has refused to issue a recall, the CPSC is continuing to pursue a recall because if a rider crashes, they will not be adequately protected from a head injury.
• Multi-Purpose Kids Bike Helmets, size medium. Sold on Amazon by Ouwoer Direct, these kids’ helmets don’t meet the standards for positional stability and impact attenuation required to ensure prevention of a child head injury.

What Legal Options Do I Have if a Defective Helmet Causes a Florida Bicycle Head Injury?

If you’ve suffered a bicycle accident-related head injury and later find out that your helmet was defective and/or recalled, it may be possible to take legal action against the designer, manufacturer, and/or distributor of that helmet. Even if the maker of the helmet is overseas/unresponsive, you can typically still take action against the seller (such as Walmart or Amazon). A recall in and of itself does not ensure these entities can be held responsible, but neither does it shield them from consequences in a federal or Florida product liability lawsuit.

The CPSC explains that the specific safety standards for bicycle helmets are to ensure the design and structure of the helmet does what it’s supposed to do: Protect your head in case of a crash, collision, or fall. That’s why the chin strap needs to be tight enough, the helmet needs to stay in place, and it needs to protect your skull from a certain degree of force. It’s got to have that hard, outer shell and the softer inner lining – both of which are needed to prevent your brain from moving violently on impact.

As a Cape Coral injury lawyer can explain, there are typically a few elements that must be proven in any product liability lawsuit. These include:

• Evidence of actual injury and/or damage.
• Inadequacy/unreasonable danger of the product due to defective design, defective manufacturing, lack of proper warnings, or insufficient instructions.
• Proof that the defect or danger was the specific or direct cause of the injury or damages.
• The injury was sustained while using the product in the manner it was intended to be used.

If you or a loved one has suffered a head injury while using a defective or recalled bicycle helmet, our South Florida injury attorneys can provide insight during a free initial consultation to help you make an informed choice about your next steps.

If you are injured in Fort Myers, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Cape Coral, Naples, or Key West, contact Garvin Injury Law at 800.977.7017 for a free initial consultation. 

Additional Resources:

Bike helmets prevent pediatric head injury in serious bicycle crashes with motor vehicles, June 12, 2020, Injury Epidemiology

More Blog Entries:

How Does Insurance Cover Cape Coral Bicycle Accident Injuries? March 28, 2023, Cape Coral Car Accident Lawyer Blog