Yes. Motorcycle accident victims can seek support from at-fault drivers. The fact that the victim wasn’t wearing a helmet when struck doesn’t mean the driver isn’t responsible for the harm caused.
Getting Support After a Ceres Motorcycle Accident
Careless drivers are financially liable when they strike vulnerable motorcyclists. The driver’s insurance would be called upon to help the rider pay for ambulance fees, hospital bills, and replace lost income while out of work.
This compensation is available to injured motorcyclists, even if the victim wasn’t wearing a helmet in the accident. Riders might receive a citation and pay a fine for traveling without a helmet, but it doesn’t excuse the driver for causing an impact.
Under California Vehicle Code CVC §27803, all riders and passengers must wear an approved motorcycle safety helmet. It’s the law, and it’s also a life-saving protection. However, this doesn’t affect the victim’s right to seek compensation from a reckless driver who caused the accident.
How Does Filing a Motorcycle Insurance Claim Work?
Victims would first file a claim with the driver’s insurer. The hope would be that the insurance company accepts full blame and offers a fair settlement that will cover the rider’s entire recovery for however long it takes.
A claim should be backed up with this proof and more:
- All evidence collected at the scene (photos, witness statements, any video evidence, etc.)
- Receipts for all medical bills and motorcycle repair costs
- A medical diagnosis from your doctor explaining any future injury care that might be required
- Paystubs that show how many paychecks you’ve lost while having to miss work hours
- Documentation of all of your other hardships caused by an accident and injury (the pain you endure, and the emotional toll of having to stop riding, etc.)
If you turn your case over to a skilled Ceres Motorcycle Accident Lawyer, your lawyer would handle evidence collection and filing your claim.
Your lawyer would also serve as a threat of a lawsuit. If the car insurance company refused to make a fair offer through a settlement, your lawyer would be ready to sue the insurer and take them to court.
Insurers try to avoid going to court because it can be very expensive for them. They might also receive some bad publicity. When they know a lawyer is on your case, they may fear a lawsuit even more and try to offer you a better settlement.
Keep in mind that even though you’ve filed a lawsuit, reaching a settlement is still possible. An insurance company might even offer you a settlement after the trial has started. Most cases are taken care of through a settlement, and victims usually don’t have to take their cases to court.
What If an Insurer Tries to Use My Lack of a Motorcycle Helmet Against Me?
In some cases, an insurance company may try to limit your support, saying that if you’d been wearing a helmet, your injuries would have been reduced.
Your attorney would fight back against this weak argument. The real reason you were hurt is that a driver was careless.
However, even if an insurer does make the case that the lack of a helmet did make the injuries more severe, you could still receive support.
In California, both the driver and the rider can share blame in an accident and for injuries. A rider may receive 30% of the blame for a head injury, and a driver may be assigned the other 70% of the liability.
So in the above example, if the motorcyclist was awarded support, it would be reduced by the 30% of the blame the rider had to accept.
Again, your lawyer would fight back on any arguments about helmet use and would work to get your level of blame down to zero.
Contact a Lawyer Serving Ceres Motorcycle Accident Victims
If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury in a motorcycle collision caused by a careless driver, discuss your case with a skilled Ceres Motorcycle Accident Attorney as soon as possible. Accident victims should never be left to face the costs of recovery alone, no matter whether they were wearing a helmet or not.
Contact Maison Law to make sure you are clear on the rights you have as a victim and the benefits that are available to you and your family. We offer a free, no-obligation case evaluation to all motorcycle accident victims and their families. We want to make sure victims get the support they need to recover and return to the road again.
And if you need our help to secure more for recovery, you won’t need any upfront money. If you hire us, we don’t get paid unless we win your case. Then our fee comes out of the money the insurance company must pay you.
