Riding a motorcycle is one of the things you love to do, but what you don’t enjoy is wearing a helmet. The helmet you have to wear feels cumbersome, and even though you know it is beneficial, you don’t like to wear it.
If you get into a crash without a helmet on, you should know that you’ve broken the law. Tennessee does require motorcyclists to wear helmets. Tennessee also has comparative negligence laws, so the fact that you weren’t wearing a helmet won’t completely eliminate your ability to seek compensation. Instead, you’ll need to show that you were under 50% at fault.
Will you receive a lower award if you weren’t wearing a helmet during your crash?
It is likely that you’ll receive a lower amount of compensation if you weren’t wearing a helmet, depending on what kinds of injuries you have. For example, if all you have are leg injuries, then wearing or not wearing a helmet wouldn’t have played a role in those injuries. As a result, you may be able to seek the full amount of compensation available to you.
On the other hand, if you suffer a serious head injury, then the argument could be made that you would have suffered a less severe injury if you’d worn your helmet. For cases that involve injuries that may have been prevented or lessened with a helmet, it’s reasonable to assume that you may receive less compensation for failing to take that precaution.
What can you do to make sure you get the most compensation possible for your injuries?
It’s important that you have a competent attorney on your side during negotiations if you want to make the most out of your claim. While your actions may have played some role in your injuries, you still deserve to receive compensation if the other party is at fault for the collision. Your attorney can help you fight for the greatest amount of compensation possible, so you can focus on your own recovery without worrying about your finances, the medical bills that are accruing or other financial losses resulting from the collision.