Cyclist’s Award Reduced for not wearing Safety Helmet

A cyclist suffered a head injury which caused concussion and soft tissue injuries to her face, shoulder and arm when she was knocked off her bike by a truck.

The cyclist, a restaurant server, lost control of her bike when a heavy sand truck had veered slightly to its left approaching traffic lights and brushed against her right shoulder. As the truck could not be raced the cyclist sued the Motor Insurer's Bureau of Ireland.

The Circuit Court judge found the cyclist and awarded her €20,000 but as she had not been wearing a crash helmet at the time of the accident, the award was reduced by 20%. This reduction is attributable to the contributory negligence of the plaintiff herself.

Contributory negligence is a principle of law whereby an injured party may have contributed to their own injury by acting negligently when confronted with apparent and known circumstances. The extent of the blame for an accident in which a person is injured is determined by contributory negligence. Where the contribution by the claimant is high, th reduction will be high.

Lopes de Andrade Aquino v Motor Bureau of Ireland Circuit Court (Daly J) 25 January 2023.