If you suffer injuries in a motorcycle accident, you may worry that not wearing a helmet will hurt your ability to recover compensation. Many riders assume that an insurance company will deny a claim or place all the blame on them because they chose to ride without a helmet.
In Michigan, riding without a helmet does not automatically prevent you from seeking compensation. What happened in the crash and the injuries you suffered can both affect a claim.
What Michigan’s motorcycle helmet law means for you
State law allows some riders to operate a motorcycle without a helmet if they meet certain conditions. Because of that, riding without a helmet is not always against the law. If a motorcycle accident leads to an injury claim, several factors may affect how helmet use relates to that claim:
- Meeting Michigan’s rules for riding without a helmet
- Suffering a head injury during the collision
- Getting struck by a driver who broke a traffic law
- Having evidence that shows how the crash happened
- Receiving medical care that documents the injuries
Helmet use is only one part of the picture. Insurance companies and courts also look at who caused the crash and what injuries resulted from it.
Can you still seek compensation after a motorcycle crash?
In many situations, the answer is yes. A driver who speeds, runs a red light or fails to yield can still cause a motorcycle accident.
Choosing not to wear a helmet does not automatically make you responsible for a crash. However, an insurance company may argue that helmet use affected how serious some injuries became. That issue differs from the question of who caused the collision.
When helmet use may have less impact on a claim
Not every motorcycle accident results in a head injury. A rider may suffer injuries that a helmet would not have prevented.
Broken bones, spinal cord injuries, internal organ damage and severe road rash can occur whether or not a rider wears a helmet. In those situations, helmet arguments may carry less weight because the injuries involve parts of the body other than the head.
The details of the collision and the injuries involved will help determine how helmet use factors into a motorcycle injury claim.