Can You File a Car Accident Case If You Weren’t Wearing a Seat Belt?
Yes, you can still file a car accident case in California if you weren’t wearing a seat belt at the time of your crash. A lack of seat belt use does not automatically disqualify drivers or passengers from recovering compensation from an at-fault party. However, the failure to buckle up could complicate your car accident claim in Los Angeles, CA and potentially reduce the payment you are eligible to receive.
Seat Belt Laws in California
California law requires all motor vehicle occupants to wear seat belts at all times. Drivers and passengers of all ages must buckle up. Child passengers need to be securely buckled into the correct car seat or booster seat until the age of 8 (or 16, starting in 2027) or until they reach a height of 4’9.” Failing to wear a seat belt could result in fines of $162 per unbuckled adult and $490 per child.
How the Seat Belt Defense Could Affect Your Car Accident Case
The “seat belt defense” is a usable argument against liability or financial responsibility for a car accident victim’s injuries in California. State law allows an automobile insurance company to reduce a crash victim’s payout due to the failure to wear a seat belt.
However, the following eligibility requirements must be met:
- A seat belt was available to the victim, but he or she willfully failed to buckle up (without a valid reason).
- Wearing a seat belt most likely would have reduced the severity of the victim’s injuries or prevented them entirely.
- A reasonable and prudent person in the same circumstances would have used their seat belt.
This is an affirmative defense, which means the defendant can raise this argument to try to avoid liability for a plaintiff’s injuries. If the seat belt defense succeeds, it most likely won’t absolve the defendant from 100 percent of the blame – but it could protect them in part and diminish the settlement given to the plaintiff.
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The Pure Comparative Negligence Law in California
If a car insurance company can prove that you weren’t wearing your seat belt and that this contributed to the extent of your car accident injuries, the pure comparative negligence rule may apply to your injury claim and reduce your settlement or judgment award.
Under this legal doctrine, a car accident victim’s financial recovery can be reduced by an amount equivalent to his or her degree of assigned fault for the crash. The “pure” part of California’s law allows a victim to receive compensation even with up to 99 percent of fault.
If the at-fault party or insurance company proves that your failure to wear a seat belt played a role in the injuries you suffered, your settlement could be decreased by a matching percentage. Absorbing 10 percent of fault for no seat belt, for example, would reduce a $100,000 settlement to $90,000.
How to Protect Your Rights If You Weren’t Wearing a Seat Belt
The failure to wear a seat belt during a car accident is a complication that deserves the attention of an attorney. An experienced personal injury lawyer can go up against a car insurance company for you to help maximize your settlement in spite of your lack of seat-belt wearing.
Your lawyer can take over negotiations with an insurance claims adjuster to protect your recovery as much as possible. A specialized injury attorney in Los Angeles can use medical records, accident experts and other types of evidence to combat the seat belt defense and cast doubt on the assertion that your injuries would have been diminished or not have occurred had you been buckled up.If you’re attempting to file a claim in California for a car accident where you weren’t wearing a seat belt, contact Rose, Klein & Marias LLP for legal assistance. We can assess your case and explain how this may affect your financial recovery.