Is it time for a new helmet? This year the answer is yes!

November 13, 2020, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Most Canadians have embraced helmets an easy and sensible way to protect our head and brain from falls and impact in high-risk sports. Generations have now grown up wearing a helmet for cycling, skiing, skateboarding, snowboarding, rock climbing, equestrian sports, and hockey and for them not wearing a helmet isn’t even a thought. For many others wearing a helmet is required on the job. Motorcycle riders must wear them as well.

When and how we change up our helmets is a question that many people ask. We all know that if you crack a helmet it’s time to get a new one. If you’ve taken a hard fall and smashed your head or damaged it somehow in transit by dropping it then it is probably time to get a new one. Sometimes they wear out or are smelly. Sometimes they just look old.

This year though we should all consider upgrading helmets. A new technology called MIPS (multi-directional impact protection system) is now widely available and provides a new protective mechanism for your brain from angled impact which is much of what happens in sport. An angled blow to the head is the most dangerous to the brain and the new technology protects your brain from the small spinning movement that is most damaging. During angled impact the rotational forces to the brain strain brain tissue and in those with serious brain injury it is this force that caused most of the damage.

You can identify the new helmets as they will be labelled MIPS and likely have a yellow dot on them as well. Here is how the tech works:

• The MIPS Brain Protection System (BPS) is found inside the helmet, generally between the comfort padding and the EPS (a high-quality foam used to reduce energy).
• For certain impacts, the MIPS BPS can reduce harmful forces transmitted to the brain.
• Injury statistics show that when you fall and hit your head, it’s most common to fall at an angle, compared to a linear fall.
• Falling at an angle creates rotational motion and science has shown that our brains are very sensitive to rotational forces. In an angled impact, these forces may transfer to your brain, which can cause severe injuries.
• The MIPS BPS can reduce rotational motion and reduce the risk of brain damage.
• The MIPS BPS allows the head to move inside the helmet which can reduce the harmful rotational motion otherwise transferred to the brain.
• When the rotational force is redirected, the risk of strain to the brain tissue is reduced. After conducting more than 31,000 tests, and moreover being validated and confirmed by third party testing, we know that the MIPS BPS adds protection at certain types of impacts.

You can see how the tech works here.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

It is important that you review your accident benefit file with one of our experienced personal injury / car accident lawyers to ensure that you obtain access to all your benefits which include, but are limited to, things like physiotherapy, income replacement benefits, vocational retraining and home modifications.