To wear, or not to wear, a helmet......FYI

Good info. Bottom line is if you’re injured or require any kind of damage payment the insurance company is never going to be your friend.

There is a big increase in injuries between states that have helmet laws and ones that don’t.

Visit a facility that treats people with traumatic brain injuries and see what they have to do to have any type of a recovery. Maybe that will change your mind about helmet usage.

Quote from wjfyfe

Here is an interesting article I came across concerning the decision to don, or not to don, a motorcycle helmet while riding:
How Helmet Laws and Helmet Use Affect Motorcycle and Bicycle Accident Claims | All-About-Car-Accidents.com
Bill

Very good information and important to know - even if the law does not require a helmet the insurance companies expect you to wear one if you want them to pay a claim for a head injury and if you do not you will have to fight them and prove that not having the helmet did not make a difference - - - - - I would think it could really get messy if you let a minor ride with you without a helmet - are you legally liable even though the law said it wasnt required?

I have been known to run to the store or to cruse downtown without my helmet, but I would never ride on the open road without wearing one. Its just not worth it when all it would take is a rock kicked up by a truck to kill me

I have a friend who getting out of the bathroom slipped and cracked her head and was DOA at the hospital, another fell head first into a concrete driveway from a 2 floor deck and is alive and kicking.

Point is if you start thinking of What ifs..... you won't get out of bed.

As far as insurance goes they can't arbitrarily require you to wear a helmet when it is not required by your state law, I am not good at searching for old articles but there was a case(here in MN)back in 2010-2011 where Geico(?) tried pulling a fast one denying a claim due to someone getting decapitated when he ran into a tree with no helmet.

Family fought it in court and won, I remember it made quite a bit of noise at the time.

Quote from Neosolidus

I have a friend who getting out of the bathroom slipped and cracked her head and was DOA at the hospital, another fell head first into a concrete driveway from a 2 floor deck and is alive and kicking.

Point is if you start thinking of What ifs..... you won't get out of bed.

As far as insurance goes they can't arbitrarily require you to wear a helmet when it is not required by your state law, I am not good at searching for old articles but there was a case(here in MN)back in 2010-2011 where Geico(?) tried pulling a fast one denying a claim due to someone getting decapitated when he ran into a tree with no helmet.

Family fought it in court and won, I remember it made quite a bit of noise at the time.

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Thing is, this one would have been won by the simple facts alone, and not the helmet itself.

The nature of the injury, decapitation, means that the head was removed from the body, as such, it would have gone under the chin, and slid along under the helmet line. The helmet would have simply given a cut line to follow and would have done nothing to alter the outcome.

We each have to look at the insurance laws in the state we are in to decide if this is an issue for us or if it isnt.

this is about negligence and seat belts in Texas

A quote from the above link
"Another case involving Nabors was heard shortly after the Romero ruling. In Nabors v. Loera, the jury first found that the fact that the Loera family wasn’t wearing seatbelts meant they were each 100% negligent and at fault for their injuries. The court gave them nothing. The family appealed, but ultimately lost due to the ruling in Romero."

if they could do this for seat belts are helmets that different?

all States must be looked at individually

Quote from MBMedic

Thing is, this one would have been won by the simple facts alone, and not the helmet itself.
The nature of the injury, decapitation, means that the head was removed from the body, as such, it would have gone under the chin, and slid along under the helmet line. The helmet would have simply given a cut line to follow and would have done nothing to alter the outcome.

it would be won on the merits only if common sense was a thing..............

My ex wife’s last husband was hit on his motorcycle by a red light runner...he skidded across the intersection and his helmetless head hit a metal light pole. He spent 1 year in a coma and then he died....imagine that hospital bill....

I’m dating a girl that suffered a traumatic head injury in a car wreck...she was given last rights and spent 2 weeks in a coma in intensive care. She then spent 2 years in a rehab facility learning how to do everything including how to swallow food again. She is a walking miracle...on an MRI part of her brain looks like a black area...

My state does not require a helmet....but I prefer to use one....since 1971

I can guarantee at the moment of impact...you’ll be saying to yourself either...I’m glad I’m wearing my helmet or......why the F ....didn’t I wear my helmet...

Take a watermelon, drop it from chest height onto concrete, blacktop or whatever. That is what will happen to your head. Human heads split open just like watermelons or pumpkins.

Quote from WmHBonney

Take a watermelon, drop it from chest height onto concrete, blacktop or whatever. That is what will happen to your head. Human heads split open just like watermelons or pumpkins.

23 years, and I have never seen this particular outcome.... just saying

Your actual skull doesn’t have to split open to kill you....it’s what happens to your brain inside your skull that causes brain severe damage.

^^^ This explains a lot in your case...

Quote from WmHBonney

Take a watermelon, drop it from chest height onto concrete, blacktop or whatever. That is what will happen to your head.

Seeds will come out?

^^^ Only if you’re a seedy character...

This is an age old argument - I always agreed if you ride a motorcycle you should have medical insurance so you don’t become a burden to the taxpayer in the event of an accident - as far as the helmet LET THE RIDER DECIDE !!!!

Your family’s conciderations should also come into play..especially if they have to bury you or spend thousands of dollars for your care and countless hours visiting you and tending to your needs.

Not to mention if they would have to remodel living space to accommodate your wheelchair and living nurses....

My girlfriends sister needs care 24/7....for the last 10 years.....she can eat and wiggle a few fingers on her left hand....she has debilitating MS. Wheelchair bound...It’s very hard to find caregivers around the clock. It’s a nightmare....for the entire family..