Maison Law helps victims of motorcycle accidents in Tulare. While there’s always the risk of accidents and injuries with a motorcycle, these are heightened if you aren’t wearing a helmet. At the same time, you still have legal options. Contact us today for a free consultation to talk about your potential case.
Do You Need a Lawyer After a Motorcycle Accident?
Being in a motorcycle accident is difficult enough on its own, but when you’re not wearing a helmet, your injuries are probably going to be much more serious. Still, you have the right to file an injury claim if the accident was caused by someone else’s negligence. However, the legal path forward gets a little more complicated.
While it’s not required by law, going it alone could lower your chances of getting a fair settlement from the insurance company. Plus, if you’re dealing with injuries and financial stress from the accident, it’s smart to have our team at Maison Law on your side.
Here’s how we can help:
- Investigate your claim thoroughly to find all potential sources of compensation.
- Gather and analyze evidence to support your case effectively.
- Handle all legal communication to avoid saying anything that could hurt your claim.
- Negotiate with insurance companies to get you the best possible settlement.
- Prepare your case for trial if needed.
- Connect you with the right doctors and specialists to help with your recovery.
Motorcycle accidents can be tough to deal with, but Maison Law can take the weight off your shoulders by handling everything related to your claim, so you can focus on getting better.
Can You Still File a Claim?
Legally speaking, your options don’t change even if you’re not wearing a helmet during a motorcycle accident. To repeat, the determining factor in whether you can file a claim after a motorcycle accident is if someone else:
- Caused the accident and your injuries due to negligence.
With that established, you can turn your attention to who exactly will be legally responsible for covering your losses. In most motorcycle accidents, this includes:
- Drivers of vehicles
- Other motorcyclists
- Pedestrians
- The City of Tulare or its road and maintenance crews
- Private construction companies (if the accident happened in a work zone)
- Car or motorcycle manufacturers
Figuring out who is responsible in a typical motorcycle accident is very important because it sets the boundaries on who your claim will be against. With that said, when you’re not wearing a helmet, you’re going to have additional challenges to deal with.
How Does Not Wearing a Helmet Impact a Motorcycle Accident?
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that not wearing a helmet is going to heavily impact your motorcycle accident, both during and after. The most apparent way is in the impact of your injuries. Unfortunately, your head and neck will be extremely vulnerable when not wearing a helmet, leading to injuries like:
- Traumatic brain injuries and concussions
- Spine and neck injuires, which can cause paralysis
- Facial injuries
- Bone breaks and fractures
- Eye injuries
The worse your injuries are, the more treatment and help you’re going to need to get better. While you can still file an injury claim, not wearing a helmet is going to be used as evidence of “comparative negligence.” This is a law in California that says any percentage of fault you share in an accident will reduce your eventual recovery by that same percentage.
Damages
The point of any injury claim–whether it be an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit–is to recover “damages” from the liable party. This is just the legal term for your losses relating to the accident and injuries. While they differ from case to case, in a motorcycle accident, you can potentially recover:
- Medical expenses and treatment costs
- Costs for ongoing care and medical devices
- Lost income and earning potential
- Repair/replacement costs for your bike or equipment, as well as any other damaged property
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of quality of life or companionship
- Wrongful death expenses, if the injuries are fatal
Again, your damages are going to be based on the extent of your injuries, and yes, your level of fault in the accident. Because they’re so important to your physical recovery, it becomes clear that you need to do everything you can to strengthen your claim–especially if you’re not wearing a helmet.
How Can You Strengthen Your Claim?
Just having the right to make a claim after a motorcycle accident sometimes isn’t enough–you also have to do what you can to strengthen it. Even under normal circumstances, an insurance company is going to try to devalue your claim anyway they can. When you don’t wear a helmet, this makes it a bit easier for them, as they’ll try to argue that you weren’t taking your responsibility to stay safe seriously.
But, you still have the law on yoru side when someone else causes the accident. At that point, what you need to do after the accident is very important:
- Get medical care – The first thing you should do is get to safety and call 911. They’ll probably dispatch police and an ambulance to the scene, and you should get medical care from EMTs.
- Talk to police – Make sure to tell the police what happened in an accurate way. Don’t leave out that you weren’t wearing a helmet, even if it means getting a ticket. Lying to police or other authorities can really hurt your claim.
- Document the scene – Try to gather as much information and evidence as you can at the scene. This means taking pictures of videos of the accident scene, vehicles involved, and anything that led up to or caused the accident itself.
- Preserve your evidence – It’s important not to repair or replace anything that was damaged. Not only will this show the other side what you’ve lost, it will also be important evidence for a jury if you decide to file a lawsuit.
- Follow up with a doctor – Even if you get medical attention on the scene, you’ll want to get further medical care with a doctor. This will address any injuries that don’t show up right away, and will also put a treatment plan in place that you’ll need to follow.
These steps are important after any motorcycle accident, but it’s hard to overstate just how important they are when you’re not wearing a helmet. After your health and safety are taken care of, you shouldn’t hesitate to reach out to our team for further guidance.
Experienced Support After a Tulare Motorcycle Accident
Facing injuries after any motorcycle accident can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t wear a helmet. However, you still have legal options, and our team of experienced Tulare motorcycle accident lawyers at Maison Law can guide you through this process. We’ll make sure you have the support you need to file a strong claim. To get started, contact us today for a free consultation.
