Helmet Defects
Many riders choose to wear a safety helmet that they believe will reduce the risk of injury to their head and face during an accident. Unfortunately, defective helmets can contribute to or even cause serious injury or death.
There is a wide variety of design and manufacturing defects in motorcycle and bicycle helmets. While there is effective regulation of motorcycle helmets by the Department of Transportation and bicycle helmets by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there are many protection failures due to design and manufacturing defects of “certified” helmets. Typical problems are frequent ejection of bicycle helmets due to “positional instability” and diffuse brain injury of motorcycle riders wearing “high performance” helmets qualified to racing standards.
In the following video, attorney John Uustal provides a guideline for determining if a helmet is defective.