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 us today for a free, confidential consultation. We are cyclists ourselves and during your consultation, we’ll provide you with your best legal options.
Can I Seek Compensation After a Bicycle Accident If I Wasn’t Wearing a Helmet?
Yes. You can still file an injury claim and demand compensation from a careless driver if you are struck while on a bike, even if you didn’t have a helmet on. In California, reckless 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 provide to you.
However, your Visalia Bicycle Accident Lawyer would fully investigate your case and use the evidence to keep the finger of blame 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.
Staying Safe and Wearing Bicycle Helmets
Bicycle helmets save lives and all bicyclists should wear them if at all possible.
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 brains in collisions.
Yet, the consequences of injuries suffered due to a careless driver’s mistake should never be left to a cyclist to face alone. The victim, helmetless or not, must receive support in order to be able to recover physically, emotionally, and financially.
Compensation For Visalia Bicycle Accident Victims
Your bike accident attorney fights back when insurance companies try to downplay the seriousness of your injury or try to blame you for what happened.
Your lawyer is also a safeguard to make sure that the insurance company is held accountable for every hardship you face during recovery. That starts with including every damage you and your family have suffered in an accident claim. It’s a critical step because anything accidentally left off this list would not earn money in a bicycle accident settlement check.
Your lawyer demands compensation for all hardships, including support for some factors you may not have known could earn you more:
- Help with medical bills now and those anticipated in the future.
- Expense for physical therapy sessions and any medical equipment necessary to give you as much freedom as possible.
- Estimated lifetime costs if you must adapt to life with a permanent disability.
- Physical pain and emotional trauma suffered in the accident and during a difficult recovery. This might include the anxiety you feel when considering getting back out on a bike and riding in traffic.
- Compensation for a loss of enjoyment of life. Being unable to get back on a bike, at least in the short term. Missing out on family activities.
- Travel costs getting to and from doctor visits and surgery consultations while in a wheelchair or cast.
- A new bike and equipment replacement.
- Full compensation for lost wages and benefits at work while you are healing.
Contact a Lawyer Serving California 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 Visalia 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.
