It’s just not worth the risk of not wearing one. Obviously you can still have a head injury with a helmet, as he OP did, but it protects your face too. Before my wreck I wouldn’t always wear mine on the trail, but I always wear it now. It would have knocked my front two teeth out and broken my nose if I hadn’t been wearing one when I had my crash. Honestly I wasn’t even that mad about the broken hand, I still had my teeth and my health insurance has better coverage than my dental insurance.