In Colorado, you aren’t required to wear a helmet when you ride a motorcycle if you are 18 years of age or older. Despite this, it is important for you to note that wearing a helmet may help save your life or prevent serious brain trauma and head injuries in a collision.
You’re much more likely to get hurt if you don’t wear a helmet. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2019, 57% of the motorcyclists killed in states without universal helmet laws were not wearing a helmet at the time. In state with those laws, only 9% of riders killed were not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. This should show the stark difference between wearing or not wearing a helmet and your overall safety on the road.
Since it’s legal, will not wearing a helmet affect a personal injury case?
It’s possible that failing to wear a helmet could impact your personal injury case even if it’s not a legal requirement to wear it. Why? The other party, like an insurance company, may argue that motorcyclists know that riding with a helmet is safer. Additionally, the state does require riders to use goggles or other eye protection, so if you were not using that because you didn’t have a helmet, that could hurt your case as well.
Can you still make a claim if you didn’t wear a helmet?
Don’t think that you can’t make a claim if you weren’t wearing eye protection or a helmet, though. The reality is that many injuries would happen with or without a helmet. For example, a broken arm or leg, burns, spinal injuries or other wounds may happen regardless of the use of a helmet. There is also the overarching fact that you would not have injuries at all if another driver had not made mistakes behind the wheel.
It’s your right to pursue a personal injury claim if another driver hits you and is at fault for the motorcycle crash. Whether you were wearing a helmet or not, you deserve an opportunity to seek compensation for everything that you’ve been through.
