Yes. California law requires that all motorcyclists wear a helmet. However, a careless driver is still liable for hitting a rider and can be sued for injury support, even if the rider wasn’t wearing one.
Don’t let an insurance company blame you for an injury caused by their negligent driver. If you were hit by a vehicle while on a motorcycle, contact Maison Law of San Luis Obispo today for a free, confidential consultation. We’ll go over what your injury and pain are worth and how to hold a car insurance company 100% liable.
Do I Need a Lawyer After Getting into a Motorcycle Accident Without a Helmet On?
If you are seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident caused by a careless driver, you should talk to a skilled San Luis Obispo Motorcycle Accident Lawyer. When medical bills go further than one trip to an emergency room, an at-fault driver’s car insurance provider will try even harder to avoid accepting responsibility.
Insurance adjusters may attempt to blame you for what happened or downplay your injuries. If you weren’t wearing a helmet when you were hit, they may falsely claim that your injuries are your own fault.
Your lawyer is your safeguard against these shady tactics. Your lawyer fully investigates what happened and backs up your injury claim with solid evidence. Then your lawyer makes sure you the reckless driver can’t wiggle out of liability. You’ll earn the most in compensation possible, regardless of whether you were wearing a helmet or not.
Can I Seek Compensation If I Was Struck While Not Wearing a Helmet?
Yes. You can still file a motorcycle accident claim and demand compensation from a careless driver if you are struck. This is still true even if motorcyclists didn’t have helmets on. In California, reckless motorists aren’t excused for their actions just because a victim wasn’t using a helmet.
If a driver’s reckless behavior causes you to suffer injury, you are empowered to seek help covering your medical bills and other damages.
If you are charged with not wearing a helmet after an accident, you may have to pay an over $200 fine. But that ticket won’t affect your ability to seek help with the injuries that a reckless driver caused.
Your Maison Law Motorcycle Accident Lawyer would fully investigate your collision and the background of the driver. The evidence would be used to keep the responsibility firmly on the driver. Your attorney would seek the maximum in compensation available for your recovery and make sure you had the support to cover any medical care needed in the future.
Should I Wear a Motorcycle Helmet When I Ride?
Yes. It’s the law in California and motorcycle helmets protect your head and brain. That’s critical when you ride in the open air and collisions can send you into a metal car frame and down on a road surface.
Riders can get Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI), skull fractures, and suffer wounds that leave facial disfigurement.
The CDC reports that helmets reduce the risk of a tragic death in an accident by 37%. Motorcyclists with helmets have a 69% better chance of avoiding a head injury.
What Is a Motorcycle Accident Settlement Worth?
The value of your injury in a motorcycle accident claim will be hard to estimate until your lawyer has had a chance to speak with you and investigate what happened.
The time it takes you to heal from an injury and how many days you miss on the job will play large roles in the size of a settlement check.
Your lawyer demands compensation for every hardship you’ve endured, including support for some factors you may not have known could earn you more.
These are a few of the things that will raise the size of a car insurance settlement:
- Hospital and physical therapy expenses.
- All costs associated with a permanent physical disability such as a limp, scars, loss of a limb, or loss of mobility.
- Emotional anguish, such as depression and anxiety while riders are dealing with difficult recoveries and are unable to resume their motorcycle rides.
- The hardship of dealing with constant physical pain.
- Past and future lost wages at work.
- Money for transportation costs to hospital appointments while a rider is on crutches or in a wheelchair.
- Money for repairs or a new motorcycle.
- Wrongful death benefits. Support for families who have lost a loved one in a motorcycle accident. This claim would seek financial help with funeral costs and leftover medical bills. Families must also receive support for the future when they are without the love and financial support the deceased would have provided.
Contact a Lawyer Serving San Luis Obispo 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 San Luis Obispo Motorcycle Accident Attorney as soon as possible. Accident victims should never be left to face the costs of recovery alone, no matter if 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.
If you feel we can help you earn more for your injury, you won’t need any upfront money to hire us. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check an insurance company provides.
