Ask the average biker of any state and he will tell you whether or not you need your helmet. Helmet laws are hotly debated throughout the country. Whether the rider considers it a restriction of freedom or common sense safety, opinion doesn’t come into play when it comes to helmet laws: every state has various rules that must be followed.
Florida Motorcycle Safety
“ATGATT” is a common initialism amongst motorcycle enthusiasts that stands for “all the gear, all the time.” Taking a safety-oriented perspective, riders following the ATGATT motto generally believe that safety gear is the key to avoiding injury. Conversely, many riders take the stance that motorcycles are about personal freedom; an expression of individualism that is necessarily unrestrained, open to risk, and free from constriction. Either way, all riders in helmet law states are required to wear their helmets under specific conditions within that particular state’s borders.
Florida, for example, allows persons 21 years old and over that are covered by an insurance policy with at least $10,000 in medical benefits to ride without a helmet. However, making the personal choice to do so may result in more than just a reduction in padding.
Florida Motorcycle Accident Lawsuits
In motorcycle accidents the damage is rarely limited to the vehicle itself–serious personal injuries are a part of almost every case.If you are hit by a car or truck while riding a motorcycle, you can be compensated monetarily for your injury. Proving that you deserve compensation, however, requires a showing of fault.
Fault, in the most basic sense of the word, is the identification of the cause of an incident. Legally, there can be multiple and different causes for a single event. An important aspect of fault is proving that the victim is without fault, or is at least at less fault than the other person. In this round-a-bout way, we come back to the issue of helmets. It is a questionable, but important, point that is often raised in motorcycle accidents: “Was he wearing a helmet?”
The presence of a helmet may or may not prevent or mitigate injury to a rider. That point is very dependent on a wide array of variables that come into play with the physics of a motor vehicle accident. However, the defense attorney for a driver injuring a helmetless rider will almost always raise the issue that the rider would have sustained less injury had he been wearing a helmet. In this way, the defendant will claim that the rider must have contributed to the damages he suffered through his decision to forego a helmet, which results in the defendant being less at fault. In terms of awarding damages and attributing fault, a good defense is always to shift the blame to someone else, to show that the defendant was not the only cause, or was a minor cause of the injuries suffered. A sympathetic jury or finder of fact might therefore make a less substantial award, or possibly even acquit the defendant entirely.
Secure Experienced Legal Help
While this is a vague example, the fact remains that wearing a helmet affects more than your safety. Similarly, choosing competent legal representation for your motorcycle accident is very important. Legal professionals versed in the multifaceted arena of personal injury and motorcycle laws have seen these tactics before, and can help you make sure that those responsible don’t evade the consequences of their actions. Make sure you pick a team with years of experience in dealing with not only motor vehicle accidents, but motorcycle accidents specifically. Any rider knows that a motorcycle accident is no normal fender bender, and these types of problems need more than a normal attorney.
Contact the experienced professionals at Fasig & Brooks in Tallahassee to make sure your legal team is firing on all cylinders. Get the legal help you need, today.
