Attorney Michael Hupy Testifies Second Time On Helmet Legislation

Attorney Michael Hupy appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on August 26, 2003, to testify on behalf of a bill dealing with new helmet legislation.

SB 223 passed out of committee and the full Senate approved the measure by a vote of 23-9. The legislation would remedy a problem that came up during a recent State Supreme Court ruling. The high court ruled that any person who chose not to wear a helmet in an “open air” vehicle, and sustained a head injury, could receive a reduction in damages from an at fault driver’s insurance company in the amount of negligence attributed for not wearing the helmet.

Attorney Hupy, who has represented hundreds of injured motorcyclists, argued that this was an unfair denial of damages that the bikers were entitled to, especially in light of the fact that there is no law requiring adult motorcyclists to wear a helmet. The Senate apparently agreed and passed the bill. Even the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel agreed with Hupy in an August 29th editorial. http://www.jsonline.com/onwisconsin/harley100/Aug03/165516.asp

The question was moved to the state assembly and scheduled for a hearing before the Assembly Judiciary Committee on November 20, 2003. Once again, Attorney Hupy took time to travel to the Capitol and testify on this important measure. The insurance industry paid lobbyist argued that this was an issue for the jury, not the legislature. He painted a picture of some sort of intrigue whereby the jurors were not allowed to hear all the facts of a case, thus subverting our judicial system. Attorney Hupy responded that irrelevant information is withheld from juries all of the time. The fact that there is no mandatory helmet law for adults in Wisconsin should render the use of a helmet irrelevant as evidence for the defense in a trial.

Hupy offered some real life examples of how the high court’s ruling could negatively impact injured motorcyclists, who were conducting themselves in a legal manner and were injured by someone else’s negligence. If the bill moves out of committee with a favorable vote, it will go to the full body of the assembly for a vote, probably in spring.

Attorney Hupy vigorously fights for biker’s rights and his law firm, Michael F. Hupy & Associates, S.C., has been involved in improving safety, awareness and the quality of motorcycling in Wisconsin and the country for many years. He is a lifetime member of ABATE of Wisconsin and has traveled to the Capitol in Wisconsin often to testify on behalf of motorcycle issues as well as meeting with national leaders on two separate occasions in Washington, D.C. concerning national helmet laws and provisions in transportation act legislation.

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