What if I Wasn’t Wearing a Helmet While Riding Motorcycle?
Can I Still File a Motorcycle Accident Claim if I Wasn’t Wearing a Helmet?
Yes. Not wearing a motorcycle helmet does not automatically prevent you from pursuing a personal injury claim after a Florida motorcycle accident.
If another driver caused the collision by speeding, failing to yield, making an unsafe turn, driving distracted, or otherwise acting negligently, that driver may still be liable for the crash.
The fact that you were not wearing a helmet can become relevant, however, if the insurance company can establish that helmet use would have prevented or reduced particular injuries. In that situation, the dispute concerns whether your conduct contributed to your injuries or the severity of those injuries, not necessarily who caused the motorcycle accident.
Is Wearing a Motorcycle Helmet Required in Florida?
Florida Statute § 316.211 generally requires motorcycle operators and passengers to wear protective headgear that complies with federal safety standards.
The statute contains an exception allowing a person over 21 years of age to operate or ride a motorcycle without protective headgear if the person is covered by an insurance policy that provides at least $10,000 in medical benefits for injuries resulting from a motorcycle crash.
Motorcycle operators are also generally required to use approved eye protection. Whether riding without a helmet was lawful in a particular case is separate from the question of who caused the collision.
Can Not Wearing a Helmet Affect My Motorcycle Accident Claim?
Yes, particularly if the rider suffered a head or brain injury.
Not wearing a helmet may become relevant under Florida’s comparative negligence rules if the evidence shows that helmet use would have prevented an injury or reduced its severity.
However, helmet use is separate from the question of who caused the crash. A motorcyclist is not responsible for another driver’s speeding, distracted driving, failure to yield, unsafe lane change, or other negligent conduct simply because the other driver was not wearing a helmet.
Instead, the insurance company may argue that the absence of a helmet contributed to specific injuries or made those injuries more severe.
Whether that argument is valid depends on the nature of the injuries, the medical evidence, and the circumstances of the collision.
How Does Florida’s Comparative Fault Law Affect a Helmet Case?
Florida follows a modified comparative fault system under Florida Statute § 768.81.
When an injured person is partially responsible for their own harm, the damages awarded may be reduced proportionately according to the percentage of fault attributed to that person.
Current Florida law also provides that, in negligence actions governed by the statute, a party who is found to be more than 50% at fault for their own harm cannot recover damages.
This is why it is important not to describe the rule simply as being more than 50% responsible “for the accident.” Florida’s statute expressly defines an accident broadly enough to include events and actions relating to the injuries, including enhanced injuries.
In a motorcycle helmet case, the parties may therefore dispute both who caused the collision and whether the absence of a helmet contributed to particular injuries.
Can the Insurance Company Deny My Claim Because I Wasn’t Wearing a Helmet?
The absence of a helmet does not automatically eliminate a negligent driver’s responsibility for causing a motorcycle crash.
Instead, the insurance company may attempt to use nonuse of a helmet to reduce the amount it pays for injuries it contends would have been prevented or made less severe by proper head protection.
That argument requires a causal connection between the absence of the helmet and the injury at issue.
For example, helmet use may become particularly relevant when the rider suffered a traumatic brain injury or another significant head injury. The same argument may have little or no relevance to injuries such as a broken leg, shoulder injury, spinal injury, or other trauma that a helmet would not reasonably have prevented.
Insurance companies may still attempt to use nonuse of a helmet broadly during settlement negotiations. An experienced motorcycle accident lawyer can evaluate whether the medical evidence and Florida law actually support the argument.
Who May Be Responsible for a Florida Motorcycle Accident?
Motorcycle accidents frequently occur because drivers fail to recognize or properly respond to motorcycles sharing the road.
A driver may be responsible for a crash after failing to yield, turning left across a motorcycle’s path, making an unsafe lane change, following too closely, speeding, driving while distracted or impaired, or violating another traffic law.
Determining liability requires examining what happened immediately before the collision rather than relying on assumptions about the motorcyclist.
Evidence may include crash reports, photographs, video footage, witness statements, vehicle damage, electronic data, roadway evidence, and accident reconstruction.
What Compensation Can I Recover After a Motorcycle Accident?
An injured motorcyclist may be able to recover compensation for losses caused by another party’s negligence.
Depending on the circumstances, damages may include past and future medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, and other economic and noneconomic losses.
Keeping complete medical records can become particularly important when an insurer disputes whether an injury resulted from the collision or claims that helmet use would have reduced its severity.
When a motorcycle accident results in death, qualifying surviving family members may also have claims under Florida’s wrongful death laws.
Why Helmet Use Can Become a Major Insurance Defense
Motorcycle accident claims can involve serious injuries and substantial damages. That gives insurance companies a financial incentive to identify arguments that may reduce their exposure.
When an injured rider was not wearing a helmet, the insurer may focus heavily on that fact even when its insured clearly caused the collision.
The relevant question is not simply:
“Were you wearing a helmet?”
The more important questions are:
Who caused the crash? What injuries resulted from the collision? Would a helmet probably have prevented or reduced any of those specific injuries?
Those issues should be decided based on the evidence rather than on assumptions about motorcycle riders.
What Should I Do After a Florida Motorcycle Accident?
Seek appropriate medical treatment as soon as possible and make sure your injuries are thoroughly documented.
When circumstances allow, preserve photographs and video of the motorcycles, other vehicles, roadway, debris, skid marks, traffic controls, and visible injuries. Obtain witness information and keep copies of medical records, bills, repair estimates, insurance correspondence, and other accident-related documents.
Be cautious about providing recorded statements or detailed descriptions of your injuries to another driver’s insurance company before understanding how the information may be used.
If you were not wearing a helmet, you should not assume that you have no case or accept an insurer’s conclusion that your compensation must automatically be reduced.
A Florida motorcycle accident lawyer can investigate both the cause of the collision and any attempt to attribute part of your injuries to helmet nonuse.
How Williams Law Association, P.A. Helps Injured Motorcycle Riders
Williams Law Association, P.A. represents people injured in serious motorcycle accidents throughout Florida.
Our attorneys investigate how the collision occurred, preserve evidence, review insurance coverage, evaluate medical records, identify responsible parties, and work with appropriate medical and accident-reconstruction experts when necessary.
When an insurance company attempts to use helmet nonuse to reduce a claim, we examine whether the insurer can actually establish a connection between the absence of a helmet and the injuries for which compensation is being sought.
A motorcyclist should not be blamed for injuries unrelated to helmet use simply because the rider was not wearing one.
Our focus is on establishing who caused the collision, how the crash injured our client, and the full value of the damages caused by the negligent party.
Contact Williams Law Association, P.A. About a Florida Motorcycle Accident Claim
If you were injured in a Florida motorcycle accident while not wearing a helmet, do not assume that you have lost the right to pursue compensation.
Helmet use may become one issue in the case, particularly when head or brain injuries are involved. Still, it does not automatically determine who caused the crash or eliminate a negligent driver’s liability.
Williams Law Association, P.A. can investigate the accident, evaluate any comparative-fault arguments raised by the insurance company, and determine what compensation may be available under Florida law.
Contact Williams Law Association, P.A. to discuss your case with an experienced Florida personal injury attorney and learn what options are available for pursuing your claim.