A motorcycle crash can cause pain and serious wounds. Treating those injuries often adds financial stress as medical expenses compete with household bills.
If you suffered injuries while riding, you might wonder how wearing a helmet affects your claim. Knowing how insurers assess its use could help you respond when they question who should pay.
What protective equipment may establish
Wearing a helmet that meets Department of Transportation (DOT) standards can fortify your claim against accusations that you failed to protect your head. It may counter arguments about preventable injuries, while compensation generally depends on your proven losses, fault and coverage. Assessing fault involves considering which safety requirements apply to you.
In Indiana, adults 18 and older generally have no helmet requirement, except when riding with a motorcycle learner’s permit. Riders and passengers younger than 18 need head protection that meets federal standards. Courts have rejected negligence arguments based on nonuse when no legal duty applies. When the law requires one, a dispute may involve both compliance and injury causation.
How injury evidence affects compensation
An insurer may dispute your share of responsibility for the harm you suffered. Under comparative fault rules, in claims against private parties, you generally cannot recover damages if your share of fault exceeds everyone else’s combined percentage. Evidence about your helmet use and resulting harm can influence that assessment. Ways it may shape your recovery:
- Showing how the impact occurred: Damage to your helmet could help experts assess the forces involved. Their findings might explain how you sustained your injuries.
- Linking protection to specific harm: Helmet disputes typically concern brain trauma, skull fractures or facial damage. A broken ankle usually raises different issues because head protection could not prevent that injury.
- Testing injury arguments: When a helmet requirement applies, the defense needs evidence connecting nonuse to the injuries at issue. Medical testimony may address preventable harm.
- Reducing the award: If a jury assesses damages at $100,000 and assigns you 20% fault, the award is $80,000.
Preserving proof can give reviewers a basis to assess these disputes.
Preparing for your claim review
Start by keeping your damaged helmet intact and photographing its condition, straps and certification label. Avoid cleaning, repairing or discarding it before an examination. If symptoms interfere with these tasks, ask someone you trust to assist.
Gather your health records, wage details and insurer letters before reviewing a settlement offer. An attorney can examine disputed deductions and assess the need for expert testimony. This review may help you weigh the proposed amount against your future care and lost earnings.