How Helmet Laws Impact Motorcycle Accident Claims in Montgomery County

Recent changes to Pennsylvania’s helmet law requirements for motorcyclists can have a significant impact on the ability of motorcyclists to recover damages for their injuries in the event of a serious motorcycle accident. While helmets have long been an important safety precaution for riders, these new laws now require riders to also consider how their helmet choices might impact their ability to bring insurance claims and legal claims. If you’re a frequent motorcycle rider in Pennsylvania, it is important to understand the implications of these new helmet laws in order to make an informed choice about your own helmet use.

Pennsylvania’s Helmet Laws

The Pennsylvania legislature has recently enacted new laws governing helmet use in the state and expanding the circumstances under which helmets are required for motorcyclists riding in Pennsylvania. Specifically, these new laws require that:

• Any riders and passengers under the age of 21 wear helmets during every ride regardless of their experience levels; 
• Any riders over the age of 21 who wish to ride without a helmet may do so only if they have held a motorcycle license for at least two years or they have completed a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation or Motorcycle Safety Foundation-approved safety course.
• Passengers who are 21 and older may ride without a helmet if the rider is also exempt from wearing a helmet.
• All riders and passengers must wear eye protection, regardless of whether they are wearing a helmet or not.

Protecting Against Brain Injuries

Pennsylvania made these changes in response to growing concern about the rate of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and fatalities among motorcyclists and how helmet use, or the lack of a helmet, contributes to such serious consequences. According to the state, 2927 motorcyclists were involved in accidents in 2025, with 806 of those riders being seriously injured and 186 deaths. This means that motorcyclists are killed at a rate 38 times higher than automobile drivers.

While nothing can fully protect a motorcyclist from the possibility of serious injuries or death after an accident, helmets have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of TBIs and long-term hospital stays. And according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorcycle helmets reduce the risk of death during a crash by 37 percent and are 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries. Given these statistics, requiring helmets for many motorcyclists in Pennsylvania helps reduce the risk of serious injuries and fatalities in the state. 

Insurance Claims and Helmet Laws

If protecting against TBIs and death is not enough to persuade motorcyclists to wear helmets while riding their bikes, helmet use also has a significant impact on the ability of a motorcyclist to recover from their insurer in the event of an accident.

Motorcyclists who are injured while riding without a helmet are likely to face more significant injuries and more complex medical claims. TBIs and other serious injuries may require lengthy hospital stays and can have lifelong health impacts on memory and brain function. These types of injuries are much more complicated for insurance companies to address and can make for a much more adversarial claims process. Insurance companies may attempt to minimize the amount of money paid out to an injured motorcyclist or to settle with a motorcyclist quickly for a low sum in order to avoid responsibility for the long-term consequences of such injuries.

Insurance companies will also use a motorcyclist’s choice not to wear a helmet against them in the claims process and may try to reduce compensation based on this choice. This is because they can argue that the extent of a rider’s injuries is a product of their own decisions not to wear a helmet, and the insurance company is not responsible for paying the rider for their own bad decisions. Insurance companies may also argue that a rider’s injuries were avoidable if they had been wearing a helmet and that a rider failed to act reasonably to try to prevent such harm, all of which can greatly lower the settlement value of your insurance claim. The decision not to wear a helmet can turn a relatively straightforward insurance claim into an insurance battle that requires the expertise of a Montgomery County motorcycle accident attorney. 

Legal Liability And Comparative Negligence

A motorcyclist’s decision not to wear a helmet under Pennsylvania law can also have a significant impact on any legal claim they may wish to bring against another party in court. This is because of a legal concept known as comparative negligence. 

Pennsylvania is a modified comparative negligence state, which means that when an accident occurs, fault can be attributed to multiple parties. Rather than finding one party completely responsible for an accident, a jury can allocate percentages of responsibility to all of the involved parties. When a rider decides not to wear a helmet while driving a motorcycle, it is quite possible that the jury may find that this decision is partially responsible for the injuries that occurred. 

For example, say a motorcyclist is hit by a car at an intersection, falls, and hits his head on a street curb, causing serious brain injuries. While the driver is responsible for hitting the motorcyclist and is likely to be found at least partially responsible, the driver may argue that the brain injuries would not have occurred if the motorcyclist had been wearing a helmet when he hit the curb. The driver may present expert testimony from medical experts about how the decision not to wear a helmet placed the motorcyclist at risk, or how a helmet would have prevented the injuries that occurred. In light of this evidence, a jury might determine that the driver is 60 percent at fault, but the rider is 40 percent at fault. Under Pennsylvania’s comparative negligence rule, this would mean that the rider would only be entitled to 60 percent of the total damages they are awarded. If they have shown they suffered 100,000 in medical bills and pain and suffering, they would only be awarded 60,000. 

Even more significantly, under Pennsylvania’s modified comparative negligence rule, if a jury determines that a rider’s responsibility for their injuries is 51 percent or more, the motorcyclist is barred from recovering any compensation at all.  This means that the decision not to wear a helmet can leave a rider with large medical bills and a lifetime of ongoing care that they will be required to pay on their own. 

Proving Liability Where Helmet Use Is An Issue

If you are legally exempt from wearing a helmet under Pennsylvania’s laws and choose not to wear a helmet while riding your motorcycle, it is important to understand how this choice might impact your motorcycle accident claim and to speak with a Montgomery County motorcycle accident attorney about how best to proceed with your case. 

In a motorcycle accident case where helmet use is not at issue, the focus would typically be on the driver’s negligent conduct or intentional bad acts. A motorcyclist’s responsibility is less likely to be disputed, and responsibility for the injuries that occurred may be more straightforward. 

But where a motorcyclist chooses not to wear a helmet, the burden falls on the rider to establish that:

• The failure to wear a helmet was not the cause of the rider’s injuries
• The injuries would have occurred even if a helmet had been worn
• The driver is completely responsible for the injuries that occurred

All of these arguments are likely to require medical evidence, expert testimony, and sophisticated legal arguments, turning a motorcycle accident case into a potentially lengthy legal battle. Any rider debating whether or not to wear a helmet should consider these potential consequences in evaluating their options.

Protecting Your Legal Rights and Your Head

The easiest way for a motorcyclist to avoid these legal and physical headaches is to wear a motorcycle helmet, even if Pennsylvania law does not technically require you to do so. Wearing a helmet reduces your risk of injury and death, improves your chances of an insurance settlement in the event of an accident, and reduces your legal challenges in a motorcycle accident case. 

If you choose not to wear a helmet and are injured, make sure to carefully document your accident scene, obtain any necessary information from other drivers or motorcyclists involved in the accident, and contact a Montgomery County motorcycle accident attorney as soon as possible. Do not discuss helmet use with any other individuals or insurers until you have spoken with an attorney.

If you have recently been in a motorcycle accident or have questions about the long-term impacts of your helmet choices, every Montgomery County motorcycle accident attorney at Anthony C. Gagliano III, Esquire, P.C., is available to assist you. They can help you negotiate with insurance companies for the settlement of your claim,  aggressively represent you in court to fight back against any suggestions that your helmet choices were responsible for your injuries, and get you the damages award that you deserve. For more information or to schedule a consultation, contact us today.