Insurance firms may reduce damages by 15 per cent

A new ruling by a High Court judge could make an impact on future accident claims for cyclists, it has been revealed.

According to a personal injury lawyer, bike insurance firms may reduce the amount of damages payed out to the victim suffering from injuries from a road accident which was not their fault, by up to 15 per cent if the cyclist fails to wear a helmet.

Mr Justice Griffith Williams, who introduced the ruling said: "There can be no doubt that the failure to wear a helmet may expose the cyclist to risk of greater injury…Any injury sustained may be the cyclist's own fault" for failing to wear a helmet.

Martin Porter, the injury lawyer, said: "It is really very worrying. It is a retrograde step to blame innocent cyclists for not wearing a helmet. There is an interesting parallel between a cyclist not wearing a helmet and a pedestrian not wearing a helmet.

By the same logic, pedestrians not wearing helmets are also at risk of contributing to their own injuries."