Important Things You’ll Need to Know About How Wearing a Helmet (or Not) Can Affect the Outcome of Your Motorcycle Accident Injury Claim
If you ride a motorcycle, you probably already know that virtually every motorcycle accident will result in injuries. Most of these injuries will be severe. Some of them will permanently disable the rider. And a huge percentage will actually kill you. (Bikers experience a risk of fatal crashes about 39 times greater than that of car occupants who crash.) One poor fellow recently lost his life in a tragic motorcycle accident as he was practicing – learning to ride his new Harley.
After your motorcycle accident, you will most likely have ongoing and costly medical expenses. You may not be able to work anymore to bring in the income to pay those expenses. So you will need all the financial compensation that you can obtain from a valid motorcycle accident injury claim.
But whether you wore a helmet at the time of your motorcycle accident can drastically affect your chances of winning your claim. The Texas motorcycle helmet law may not require you to wear one, but Texas observes the doctrine of modified comparative negligence in accident compensation claims. Basically this means that if the court finds that you contributed to your injuries to any substantial degree, you may be completely out of luck in a compensation claim. Generally, the possible scenarios you face include:
1. Your motorcycle accident caused no severe injuries, and you wore a helmet. Even if you experienced no head or neck injuries, then the presence of the helmet could help show that you were a responsible rider, taking good safety precautions. This could be especially helpful if you do have come motorcycle accident injury claims, and the Texas motorcycle helmet law didn’t require you to actually wear a helmet.
2. Your accident caused severe injuries, and you wore a helmet. Here, your use of a helmet would be quite relevant to show that you did not contribute to the severity of your head or neck injuries, and that you took proper precautions to protect your safety. Your lawyer could present the vast amounts of available data and statistics to show how much worse your injuries likely would have been without the helmet. This could show how much more costly your claim would have been to the insurer or defendant (and that, in effect, they would be getting off easy by paying your existing claim).
3. Your accident caused no severe injuries, but you didn’t wear a helmet. Even if you were not legally obligated to wear a helmet under the Texas motorcycle helmet law, your lack of a helmet could be used to show that you helped contribute to any losses from the accident, and to dismiss any claims for compensation.
4. Your accident caused severe injuries (particularly if they were to the head or neck) and you did not choose to wear a helmet. Even though the Texas motorcycle helmet law may not require you to wear a helmet, you can probably kiss your motorcycle accident injury claim goodbye. The opposition will bring to bear the same data and statistics I mentioned in item 2. This data could demonstrate your own contribution to the magnitude of your injuries by not wearing a helmet, and sink your motorcycle accident injury claim.
Your best options:
A. Always wear a helmet.
B. If you’re injured and need to make an accident claim, hire an experienced motorcycle accident injury lawyer who knows how to handle these differing helmet use scenarios.
At Denena & Points, we have over 12 years of experience successfully representing bikers injured by accidents. We understand the special needs of a motorcycle accident injury claim, and we know how to build strong arguments in your favor (helmet or no helmet). So give us a call for your free legal consultation. We could answer the questions you have about your motorcycle accident, and give you the knowledge you need regarding your legal options. Motorcyclists generally experience a disadvantage in court because of the prevailing public perception of bikers. You’ll need a good lawyer (like Denena & Points) that relates to the needs of bikers and their motorcycle accident injury claims.