Helmet Laws and How They Affect Your Fishers Motorcycle Claim

September 26, 2026

• Wearing a helmet on a motorcycle is always a good idea, but it isn’t required in Indiana. If you are not wearing a helmet and get into an accident in Fishers, insurance companies could try to reduce your motorcycle claim.
• The insurers might argue that you were to blame for your injuries and use it to justify lowballing your settlement, but you can protect yourself by showing that the accident was not your fault.
• Having a Fishers motorcycle accident lawyer on your side who knows the law and wants to protect the rights of motorcyclists can help you get as much as you need to get your life back together.

Insurance companies love motorcycles. Or, rather, insurance companies love getting out of paying motorcyclists and will do whatever they can to avoid paying you what you need for your medical bills after an accident. And if you are in a motorcycle accident in Fishers and aren’t wearing your helmet, you’ve given them a tool to do what they are most excited about: lowballing you.

It doesn’t matter if the accident wasn’t your fault. It doesn’t matter how extensive your injuries are. The insurance companies may still try to use Indiana’s helmet laws against you in order to deny you the financial recovery you deserve for your Fishers motorcycle claim.

But that doesn’t mean they’ll win. While wearing a helmet on a motorcycle is always a good idea, not wearing one doesn’t take away your rights. Insurers may attempt to trick and bully you, but working with a local Fishers motorcycle accident attorney who is dedicated to protecting your interests can level the playing field.

Indiana Helmet Laws and Motorcycle Accident Claims

Indiana Code 9-19-7-1 mandates the use of helmets for motorcyclists under the age of 18. But while riders and passengers over 18 are required to wear glasses or goggles or protective face shields, they are not required to wear helmets.

Indiana law also states that a party who is less than 51% at fault for an accident should be entitled to compensation for it. But that compensation can be reduced by the party’s “comparative fault.” So if you are 20% at fault for an accident, your compensation can be reduced by that much (making a $100,000 finding an $80,000 payout).

Now, you might not think that these laws intersect. After all, not wearing a helmet doesn’t increase or decrease your culpability in a motorcycle accident. It might increase the scope and severity of your injuries, specifically head and brain injuries, but not your liability.

And while that may be strictly true, insurance companies may try to insist otherwise.

How Insurance Companies Use Helmet Laws Against You

Let’s say you are at one of the new roundabouts in Fishers, IN, like the roundabout at 136^th and Ollo. You are following the law, but a car whose driver is not looking for motorcycles and unsure about what to do at a roundabout doesn’t yield, and you crash into it.

Roundabout accidents in Fishers have clear laws. The driver of the car is almost certainly at fault. But the insurance company might not see it that way – or may use your lack of a helmet to make it seem like you were at fault.

The parallel here is Indiana’s seatbelt law, which states that not being buckled up can add up to 5% to your “fault percentage.” The “fault” here isn’t the accident, but the responsibility for your injuries. Courts have started to accept this when it comes to motorcycles, though it hasn’t been codified.

One thing to make clear is that this doesn’t apply to injuries below the head (broken bones, skin abrasion, internal organ damage, etc.). But it could potentially apply to head injuries, including skull fractures, concussions, and traumatic brain injury.

Now, in cases that are cut-and-dried like our example above, 5% might not be catastrophic. But if you are closer to 50% responsible? Or the situation is confused enough that the insurance company could try to manipulate it? Then you could lose out on what you need to get through your recovery and beyond.

How to Protect Your Fishers Motorcycle Claim

There are ways to not be a victim of the system. The first is never talking to insurance companies by yourself. Don’t give statements or admit anything. They are trained to use any of your words against you.

You should also understand how they are going to manipulate the situation. They may try to:

• Offer you a quick settlement, telling you that this is as good as you’ll get.
• Get you to accept partial blame and use that to deny your claim or lowball you.
• “Investigate” whose fault the accident was, hoping your bills will add up and make you desperate to settle.

So protect yourself from them. Some steps to take include:

1. Calling 911 and getting an accident report from the Fishers PD.
2. Gathering your own evidence: taking pictures, talking to witnesses, checking for security cameras that may have footage. The more you can prove the fault of the driver, the less the insurers can take away from your Fishers motorcycle claim, helmet or no helmet.
3. Going to the hospital to start a medical record.

If you aren’t wearing a helmet, you might not get everything you deserve. But knowing the tricks of the insurance industry can help you get as much as possible, especially when you have someone riding alongside you.

Reach Out to Our Experienced Fishers Motorcycle Accident Attorneys

Insurance companies love lowballing motorcyclists. But there are motorcycle accident lawyers in Fishers who want to protect our riders. They’re at Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998.

Simply call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form now for a free consultation with a knowledgeable Fishers motorcycle accident attorney.