Vehicle Code 21212 states that adult California cyclists aren’t required to wear bike helmets. If you are struck by a motorist and you don’t have a helmet on, you can still file an accident claim and seek help with injury recovery. The lack of a helmet shouldn’t mean that your injury claim must be reduced.
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 bike, Contact Maison Law of Turlock today for a free, confidential consultation. We are cyclists ourselves and during your consultation, we’ll provide you with your best legal options.
Do I Need a Lawyer After Getting into a Bicycle Accident Without a Helmet On?
If you are seriously hurt in a bicycle accident caused by a careless driver, you should talk to a skilled Turlock Bicycle 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 having to accept 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 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 After a Bicycle Accident If I Wasn’t Wearing a Helmet?
Yes. If you weren’t wearing a helmet, you should still file an accident claim with the driver’s auto insurance provider and demand full compensation. This support will be critical, allowing you can rebuild your health and protect your finances. Not wearing a helmet doesn’t mean the driver gets to avoid responsibility for a reckless decision. In California, distracted or speeding motorists aren’t excused for their actions just because a victim wasn’t using a helmet.
If a driver’s mistake causes you to suffer injury, you are empowered to seek help in paying your medical bills and other damages such as your lost paychecks while out of work. Your non-economic damages, such as the pain you endure and the emotional hardships you are put through are also the at-fault driver’s responsibility. Non-economic damages can include the frustration cyclists feel when they can’t get back on their bikes for weeks or months.
In some cases, a car insurance adjuster may attempt to argue that your injuries wouldn’t have been as severe if you’d had a helmet on. This would be a tactic used to try to lessen the amount of support the insurer would be forced to provide to you. It’s just another unfair way to blame the victim.
Your Maison Law Bicycle Accident Attorney gets aggressive and fights back. Your lawyer would collect strong evidence on your behalf showing the driver’s negligence and full liability for the pain you’ve been put through. 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.
California’s Bicycle Helmet Law
Drivers also can’t wiggle out of accountability by citing the laws. California doesn’t require adult riders to wear helmets while riding bikes. It’s a choice. California law only requires those under age 18 to wear a helmet. The actual language of the law is posted below.
California Vehicle Code 2112
“A person under 18 years of age shall not operate a bicycle, a nonmotorized scooter, or a skateboard, nor wear in-line or roller skates, nor ride upon a bicycle, a nonmotorized scooter, or a skateboard as a passenger, upon a street, bikeway, as defined in Section 890.4 of the Streets and Highways Code, or any other public bicycle path or trail unless that person is wearing a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet that meets the standards of either the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) or the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)…”
Maison Law is an advocate for the rights and safety of cyclists. We urge all riders to wear helmets when possible. Riders travel with very little protection when they are beside fast-moving and heavy cars, SUVs, and trucks. Even a light tap can send riders down hard on the road surface.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that over a recent 10-year span there were almost 600,000 bicycle-related traumatic brain injuries treated in hospital emergency departments in the U.S. Helmet use can greatly reduce the severity of the damage done to the brains of victims in collisions.
It’s also true that cyclists should never have to face the consequences of a collision with a car alone. No matter the outcome of an accident, a driver must be held liable so riders can afford the best care available and rebuild their lives.
Contact a Lawyer Serving Turlock Bicycle Accident Victims
If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury in a bike collision caused by a careless driver, discuss your case with a skilled Turlock Bicycle Accident Lawyer as soon as possible. Bicycle 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 bicycle 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.
