Free Bicycle Helmet!

In March we celebrate Bicycle Month and Brain Injury Awareness Month. Does your family have bicycle helmets to keep you safe?

For most of our nati on, Bicycle Month is May since the cold winter weather has broken and April’s rainy season has concluded. People can emerge from their homes to enjoy the great outdoors. However, in Broward County, Florida – where Coffey McPharlin is located – we celebrate bicycle month during March because of the wonderful weather that we enjoy. There are numerous events celebrating Broward’s BicycleMonth that can be found on www.Broward.org.

Concurrently, the Brain Injury Association of Florida and others celebrate the month of March as Brain Injury Awareness Month. The Brain Injury Association of Florida is a wonderful organization located in Tallahassee, Florida servicing Floridians that suffer the effects of brain injury throughout the state. You can find more information about this group and the incredible work they do at www.BIAF.org. Coffey McPharlin is a sponsor of the Brain Injury Association of Florida because of all the good they do.

Our law practice often deals with accidents involving traumatic brain injury (TBI) cause by all types of accidents. A common theme that we have seen over the years of prosecuting these types of claims involves falls from bicycles by both adults and children. As a result, we have developed an area of practice for bicycle related accidents that often include head injury claims that range from post-concussive syndrome to moderate and severe traumatic brain injury.

I grew up with the love for bicycles. Some of my fondest memories as a child involve learning how to ride a bicycle and the daring feats (in my mind) that I accomplished on my bicycle. Quite often, I did not wear a helmet when I was young, despite the serious risks that I was taking, as was common for people riding bicycles back in the 1970’s. Likewise, very few people wore their seat-belts in cars, smoking was en vogue, and many Americans enjoyed a deep, dark tan. Culturally, we know now that seat-belts save lives, smoking causes cancer, and sunblock is key to healthy skin. Today, many people use bicycle helmets when they ride, including professionals in the Tour de France. It is, in fact, the law in the state of Florida – as it is in most states across our nation – that children under 16 years of age must wear a bicycle helmet when they ride.

However, despite the law requiring all children to wear helmets while they ride bicycles, I often see little kids without bicycle helmets on their heads. I do not know whether this due to a lack of awareness of the risks to children or ignorance of the law. I have never heard of a police officer giving a ticket for violation of this law. My solution is to offer free bicycle helmets to any family with a young child to encourage bicycle helmet use. I am always happy when someone takes me up on this offer since I know that the bicycle helmets can make the difference between a minor bump and bruise or a traumatic brain injury for a child that falls off a bicycle.

If you have a young child that does not have a bicycle helmet and you cannot afford to purchase one, then please contact Coffey McPharlin at (954) 541-3194 and we will make sure that you get a free bicycle helmet for your child.