The Role of Helmets in Motorcycle Accident Claims

Wearing a Helmet and Your Accident Claim

If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident, one of the first things the insurance company or other driver might ask is, “Were you wearing a helmet?” That’s because helmets in motorcycle accident claims can play an outsized role in your case.

It often depends on the laws in your state. In Tennessee, it can have an impact on your personal injury claim. Here’s what you need to know about how helmets can affect your case.

Tennessee’s Helmet Law

In our home state of Tennessee, the law requires all motorcycle riders and passengers to wear a helmet, no matter your age. If you weren’t wearing one at the time of the accident, it could impact your ability to recover full compensation—even if the other driver was mostly to blame.

That said, it doesn’t necessarily change who was at fault for your accident. It only changes how the opposing side or the courts might view the degree of your injuries, and who was at fault for that.

How Not Wearing a Helmet Affects Your Claim

If you suffer a head or brain injury in a crash and weren’t wearing a helmet, the insurance company might argue you were partly responsible for your own injuries. This is called comparative fault.

Even if the other driver caused the accident, it could reduce the value of your claim. It depends whether they can prove wearing a helmet would have made your injuries less severe.

For example, let’s say you’re found to be 25% at fault for your injuries because you weren’t wearing a helmet. If your total damages are $100,000, you’d only be able to recover $75,000. If you’re found to be more than 50% at fault, Tennessee law says you can’t recover anything at all.

That’s why it’s so important to work with a lawyer who knows how to push back against those kinds of arguments and show the full picture of what happened.

What If You Were Wearing a Helmet?

If you were wearing a helmet, that can help your case. It shows you were following the law and taking steps to protect yourself.

It also makes it harder for the insurance company to blame you for your injuries, especially if you still suffered serious harm even while using the right safety gear.

Helmets in Motorcycle Accident Claims Aren’t the Only Factor

While helmet use is important, it’s not even close to the only thing that matters in a motorcycle accident claim. The focus should be on who caused the accident and what kind of injuries you suffered. A good lawyer will look at the entire situation, including:

• Road conditions
• Other drivers’ actions
• Vehicle defects
• Witness reports and police findings

So often, drivers blame bikers for being unsafe or even just sharing the road. But when you look into it, they actually caused the accident by not being alert to their surroundings. We see it every day at our firm.

So even if you weren’t wearing a helmet, you may very well still be able to recover compensation—especially if the other driver clearly caused the crash.

Talk to an Experienced Lawyer About Your Case

Every motorcycle accident is different, and whether or not you wore a helmet is just one part of the bigger picture. If you’ve been injured in a crash, you deserve someone who can stand up for you and fight back against insurance companies that want to reduce or deny your claim.

We’ve helped riders all over Tennessee get the compensation they need after a crash—whether they were wearing a helmet or not.

Our award-winning team will investigate your claim, represent you at negotiations, and hold the other side accountable. We fight for you every step of the way, so you can focus on your own healing. And we don’t get paid anything unless and until we win your case.

Contact us today for a free consultation. Let’s talk about what happened and how we can help.