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Not by itself. Riding without a helmet does not bar a claim in Texas on its own, and it does not decide fault. But no current Texas statute makes helmet use irrelevant to a civil case either. The question is litigated under the ordinary rules of evidence and proportionate responsibility, and defendants may raise it.
What cannot wait is the physical evidence. Scene marks, video and the other vehicle’s data can disappear within days. Do not let the motorcycle go to salvage before it is inspected. Call 713-521-0059.
Section 661.003 of the Transportation Code makes it an offense to operate or ride as a passenger on a motorcycle on a public street or highway without protective headgear meeting department standards.
Subsection (c) creates an exception. It applies where the person was at least 21 years old. The person must also have either completed a motorcycle operator training and safety course under Chapter 662, or been covered by a health insurance plan providing medical benefits for injuries from a motorcycle collision.
Subsection (c-1) prohibits an officer from stopping or detaining a rider for the sole purpose of determining whether the course was completed or the insurance exists. Subsection (h) makes the offense punishable by a fine of $10 to $50.
Possibly. Chapter 661 contains no provision addressing civil liability or the admissibility of helmet use. Subsections (d) through (g) of Section 661.003, which formerly addressed related matters, were repealed effective 1 September 2009.
There is no statute today that makes helmet non-use inadmissible in a Texas civil case. Whether it comes in, and for what purpose, is litigated under the rules of evidence and under Chapter 33 proportionate responsibility. It will turn on the injuries sustained and on expert proof about what a helmet would have changed. A rider struck in the leg by a left-turning driver is in a different position from a rider with a head injury. No controlling Texas Supreme Court decision has settled the question since the 2009 repeal.
Under Section 33.001, you recover nothing if you are found more than 50 percent responsible. Otherwise, Section 33.012 reduces the award by your percentage of responsibility, even at exactly 50 percent. This is the mechanism through which a helmet argument, a speed argument or a lane position argument would operate.
Texas has no statute expressly authorizing lane splitting or lane filtering. There is likewise no statute expressly naming and prohibiting it. In practice the conduct is addressed under the general lane-use rules in Chapter 545 of the Transportation Code, not by a rule of its own. Do not treat the absence of a specific prohibition as permission, because a defendant may use it against you. If you were splitting or filtering between lanes, tell us at the start so it is addressed early.
The other driver usually did not see the motorcycle. Left turns across the rider’s path, lane changes into the rider, and pulling out from a side street are the recurring patterns. Juries can also carry assumptions about riders, such as speed, recklessness and risk-taking. Those assumptions are met with evidence, reconstruction and scene work, not with argument.
You often know more about the crash than anyone else at the scene. Write down the lane you were in and what the other car did, and share the details with your lawyer rather than posting or sending them to anyone else. Note the weather, the light and the road surface. Small details like these help a reconstruction later.
Your gear is evidence too, including a damaged helmet if you were wearing one. Tell the insurer in writing not to dispose of the motorcycle, the other vehicle or your gear. A preservation letter can go out right away, costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Commonly recovered expenses and damages include:
Motorcycle injuries are often severe, and the at-fault driver’s coverage often is not enough. A degloving injury, a shattered pelvis or a brain injury can use up a minimum-limits policy quickly. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy is often the largest available recovery, and it is also the coverage most often overlooked. Send us your declarations page early.
Medical damages are measured under Section 41.0105 by what was actually paid or incurred rather than billed. How a bill is paid changes what can be recovered, which makes it worth deciding on purpose. Cost and necessity can be proven by affidavit under Section 18.001, unless a controverting affidavit is properly served. The affidavit does not establish causation.
Future care has to be proven. Hardware removal, revision surgery, prosthetics and long-term therapy are recoverable, with medical evidence of reasonable probability and cost. Keep every record from the first visit forward, because future care is built on the records of past care.
The first weeks after a serious crash are hard. You may be in surgery, then in rehab, with bills arriving each week. Keep them all in one box or folder. You do not need to sort them, because we can do that.
Under Section 16.003(a), suit generally must be filed within two years after the day the claim accrues, which is usually the date of the injury. For a death claim, Section 16.003(b) runs the period from the date of death. Where a governmental unit is responsible, Section 101.101 generally requires notice within six months. A city charter period permitted by law governs where it applies, and the City of Houston requires written notice within 90 days. Under Section 101.101(c), the notice requirement does not apply where the governmental unit had actual notice.
Two years can pass quickly when you are healing. Those notice periods, six months under the statute and 90 days in the City of Houston, are much shorter than the lawsuit deadline, so a crash that involves a government vehicle or employee needs early attention. If you are not sure whether a government entity is involved, ask right away, because the City of Houston notice period is 90 days.
Every statute and case linked above was read at its primary source. Texas statutes change every legislative session and case law is constantly changing.
This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Scene marks and video usually disappear first, so the earliest steps matter most. Keep your gear in a bag, unwashed and unrepaired. If friends or family took photos at the scene or at the hospital, ask them to send you the originals. Write down what you remember about the other driver’s movements while it is fresh, and keep every letter an insurer sends you.
We start by preserving the motorcycle, the other vehicle and its data, and any video near the scene. Then we identify every layer of coverage, including your own uninsured and underinsured motorist policy, and prepare for the helmet, speed and lane position arguments before the defense raises them.
Schiffer Law Firm is a Houston personal injury firm with 50 plus years of combined experience representing injured people across Texas.
There is no charge to talk, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
Written by Jacob Schiffer, Attorney, Schiffer Law Firm. State Bar of Texas No. 24105175.
Call 713-521-0059.
Section 661.003 of the Transportation Code makes it an offense to ride without protective headgear. There is an exception for a person at least 21 years old. That person must have completed an approved training course or be covered by a health insurance plan providing benefits for motorcycle collision injuries.
Possibly. Chapter 661 contains no provision addressing civil liability or admissibility, and the subsections that formerly addressed related matters were repealed in 2009. The question is now litigated under the rules of evidence and Chapter 33 proportionate responsibility. It is not categorically inadmissible.
There is no statute expressly authorizing it and none expressly naming and prohibiting it. In practice it is addressed under the general lane-use rules in Chapter 545 of the Transportation Code, and a defendant may use it against a rider.
Look to the uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy. Motorcycle injuries routinely exceed minimum limits, and this coverage is the most commonly overlooked source of recovery.
In most cases, suit must be filed within two years after the day the claim accrues, which is usually the date of the injury, under Section 16.003(a). In a death case the period runs from the date of death. If a government entity is responsible, a shorter notice deadline can also apply, and in the City of Houston it is written notice within 90 days.
Not necessarily. Section 41.0105 measures medical damages by what was actually paid or incurred rather than billed. How each bill was paid can change that figure.