If I Wasn’t Wearing A Helmet, Can I Still Be Compensated If I Crash My Motorcycle?

Posted in Blog on March 19, 2023

The state of Georgia mandates that all motorcyclists wear helmets when they operate their vehicles. There is undeniable evidence showing that helmets save lives and prevent serious head and face injuries, but what if you were not wearing a helmet? Can you still recover compensation if you sustain an injury caused by the negligent actions of another driver on the roadway? Here, we want to examine compensation issues for individuals who were not wearing helmets when the incident occurred.

Not Wearing a Helmet Could Affect Compensation

Motorcyclists are required to wear a motorcycle helmet in Georgia. However, even if an individual was not wearing a helmet at the time an accident occurred, they could still recover compensation if the incident was caused by the negligent actions of another party. If an individual sustains a head injury as a result of the incident, not wearing a helmet could make it more challenging to recover compensation for the head injury and any brain injury that may have occurred.

Why would an individual receive less compensation for a head injury or a brain injury if another party caused the incident?

The reality is that insurance carriers and the at-fault party will use any tactic necessary to pay less compensation for the claim. Even though they may not be able to get out of paying for compensation for other types of injuries that occur, like a broken arm or road rash, they most certainly will use a person not wearing a helmet as a reason not to pay compensation for the head injury.

Since wearing a helmet is required in the state of Georgia, the failure to wear a helmet could lead to a comparative negligence argument. If individuals are responsible for causing their own injuries due to their negligence, they can still recover compensation in Georgia, but the total amount of compensation they receive will be less. Georgia operates under a modified comparative negligence system. Individuals who are 50% or more responsible for causing their own injury become unable to recover compensation for their losses. However, individuals who are less than 50% responsible for causing their injury can recover compensation, but they will receive reduced compensation depending on their percentage of fault.

For a head injury that occurs when a motorcyclist did not wear a helmet, a jury will look at this failure to follow the law as a form of negligence. In fact, it would be considered negligence per se because it is negligence by breaking the law on the books. A jury may determine that an individual can recover total compensation for injuries that occurred to other areas of the body but only partial compensation for their head or brain injury if they were not wearing a helmet when the accident occurred.

Working With an Attorney

If you or somebody you care about has sustained a motorcycle accident injury caused by the negligent actions of another party, we encourage you to reach out to an Atlanta motorcycle accident attorney as soon as possible. A skilled lawyer can use their resources to fully investigate the claim and help recover compensation for your losses. They will push back against insurance carriers or at-fault parties who try to claim that you should not receive full compensation for your losses.