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• New York Injury Attorney Gives Advice that Could Save Your Life- And Your Case

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New York Injury Attorney Gives Advice that Could Save Your Life- And Your Case

Hundred$ of Thousand$ of Reason$ to Wear a Helmet
Whether you are riding a motorcycle or a bicycle, you should always wear a “brain bucket” (helmet) to protect yourself from serious brain injury, or even death. For reasons that escape me, I know that lots of people continue to cycle without a helmet, even though they are aware of the risks of riding without one. Well how is this for motivation to strap one on- if you are out cycling without a helmet and you are struck by a car and receive a head injury, your failure to protect yourself may cause you to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars if you make a claim against the driver of the car that ran you down.
See, New York has a law that says even if the guy who ran you down/caused the accident is 100% at fault, the jury on your case may find that you are partially responsible for the injuries you received because you refused to wear a helmet. This law is called “comparative negligence”, and it basically says that if you failed to protect yourself by refusing to use available safety equipment, the jury can punish you financially for doing so.
Here is how it usually works: a passenger in a car accident is gravely injured, but was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. The passenger sues the driver of the car for causing the wreck. At trial, the jury determines that the passenger’s life-altering injuries are worth $2,100,000. The jury then determines how much blame the passenger should bear for not wearing a seat belt, and how much blame the driver should bear for causing the accident. Even if the jury were to find you “only” 25% at fault, the $2.1 million you would have otherwise received on the case had you been wearing a seat belt, is automatically reduced by 25%, or $525,000!
The same logic applies if you receive a brain injury while cycling without a helmet. The amount of money you would receive from the responsible party is reduced proportionately by your share of fault for not wearing a helmet. So do yourself (and your brain and your wallet) a favor, and always wear a helmet!

And if you are hurt in a cycling accident in upstate New York and are looking for an injury lawyer, call me. I may be able to help.

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