Yes, if you were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, it will affect your insurance claim, and you may earn less than you expected or wanted. However, even though you were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, you are still entitled to compensation. To explain this we have to cover some Florida Statutes and legal terms like comparative negligence.
What Does the Law Say About Seatbelts?
According to Florida Statute §316.614.4(a), known as the Florida Safety Belt Law, it is illegal for drivers and passengers in a motor vehicle to neglect seatbelt use. The law mandates that:
- All front-seat passengers, regardless of age, must wear seatbelts.
- Passengers under the age of 18 must be restrained by a safety belt or an appropriate child restraint device, regardless of their seating position.
Drivers are responsible for ensuring compliance for passengers under 18, and violations can result in fines and points on the driver’s license.
Comparative Negligence in Florida
Comparative negligence is a legal doctrine that determines liability when multiple parties are at fault. In Florida, the rule was modified in 2023 to bar plaintiffs from recovering compensation if they are more than 50% at fault for an accident. If you are partially at fault, and it is proven that wearing a seatbelt would have lessened your injuries, your compensation may be proportionally reduced based on the percentage of fault assigned to you.
Florida operates under a no-fault insurance system, which means your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage will pay for medical expenses and lost wages regardless of fault. Still, claims for pain and suffering or non-economic damages often involve proving the other driver’s liability.
How Does Not Wear a Seat Belt Affect Your Insurance Car Accident Claim?
Yes, failing to wear a seatbelt can significantly impact your car insurance claim. Under Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule (effective March 2023), your compensation may be reduced if it’s proven that not wearing a seatbelt contributed to the severity of your injuries. Insurance companies often leverage this “seatbelt defense” to minimize payouts, arguing that your injuries could have been less severe if you had been properly restrained.
However, not wearing a seatbelt does not eliminate your right to compensation. Florida law ensures that:
- PIP benefits cover a portion of your medical expenses and lost wages, regardless of seatbelt use, up to $10,000.
- Claims for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, remain possible if you meet Florida’s serious injury threshold, such as permanent disability or significant scarring.
While insurance companies may attempt to reduce your payout, an experienced attorney can counter these arguments by showing that your injuries were not solely caused by seatbelt non-use. So, the compensation you receive from the insurance company will be adjusted based on your level of negligence and how that contributed to the accident.
But again, just because you did not have a seatbelt on at the time of the accident, does not mean that you will receive no money. You are still entitled to compensation though the amount is affected because of the rule of comparative negligence. Wear a seatbelt or receive less.
What happens if you don’t wear a seatbelt in an accident?
Let’s look into a few scenarios:
- If You Are at Fault for the Accident
If you caused the accident, not wearing a seatbelt affects your compensation significantly under Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule. For example, you rear-end another vehicle, causing an accident. You suffer severe injuries because you were not wearing a seatbelt. Since you were at fault and your injuries were exacerbated by seatbelt non-use, you are unlikely to recover damages for pain and suffering. However, your PIP benefits will still cover a portion of your medical expenses and lost wages up to $10,000.
As the at-fault driver, your ability to claim damages beyond PIP is minimal, especially if your fault (not wearing a seatbelt) directly contributed to your injuries. - If You Are Not at Fault for the Accident
Even if the other driver is fully responsible for the accident, your failure to wear a seatbelt can reduce the compensation you receive. For example, you are rear-ended at a stoplight and sustain serious head and chest injuries because you were unrestrained. The other driver is clearly at fault for causing the accident. However, the opposing insurance company argues that your injuries were worsened by not wearing a seatbelt and assigns you 20% fault for your injuries. If your total damages are $100,000, your compensation is reduced to $80,000.
While you can still recover compensation, the amount may be reduced based on your level of fault in exacerbating your injuries. - If You Are a Passenger in the Vehicle
As a passenger, not wearing a seatbelt can still affect your claim, regardless of whether the driver of your vehicle or another driver caused the accident. For example, you are a front-seat passenger in a vehicle that runs a red light and collides with another car. You were not wearing a seatbelt and suffered severe whiplash and head injuries. The driver of your vehicle is found 60% at fault for the accident, while the other driver is 40% at fault. Because of your seatbelt non-use, you are assigned an additional 15% fault for your injuries. This means your compensation is reduced proportionately.
Passengers are held to the same seatbelt laws as drivers in Florida, and your compensation can be reduced even if you were not driving.
Failing to wear seat belts when driving not only impacts your legal claim in a car accident case but also dramatically increases the risk of severe injuries during a crash. Understanding the types of injuries caused by not wearing a seatbelt underscores the importance of compliance with Florida’s seatbelt laws—for both your safety and your ability to recover maximum compensation.
Injuries From Not Wearing A Seatbelt
The statistic that individuals ejected from vehicles are 30 times more likely to die in a crash is supported by data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). According to their studies, unrestrained vehicle occupants face a significantly higher risk of ejection during a crash, and approximately 76% of people who are ejected from a vehicle in a crash do not survive.
The consequence of not wearing a seatbelt is almost always injury. Seatbelts have been designed to ensure that drivers and passengers are protected from Newton’s First Law of Motion: An object in motion stays in motion.
Without a seatbelt to restrain you, this could be the dashboard, windshield, or even ejection from the vehicle. This lack of restraint dramatically increases the severity of injuries because the force of impact is directly absorbed by your body instead of being distributed and minimized by the seatbelt.
The most common injuries from not wearing a seatbelt are:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): Caused by the head colliding with hard surfaces or abrupt movements damaging the brain.
- Whiplash: Exacerbated by the absence of restraint, leading to extreme neck strain.
- Neck Fractures: Unrestrained forward motion places excessive stress on the cervical spine.
- Head Injuries: Direct impact with the windshield or other surfaces results in lacerations or blunt trauma.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: Sudden, violent movements without restraint can damage vertebrae or the spinal cord.
- Internal Bleeding: Unrestrained collisions with the dashboard or seat edges can injure vital organs.
- Knee Trauma: Knees striking the dashboard unrestrained often result in fractures or ligament injuries.
- Facial Injuries, Cuts, and Scars: Without a seatbelt, the face absorbs the full impact during a collision.
Airbags cannot provide adequate protection on their own because they are designed to complement seatbelt use. Without a seatbelt, the force of the airbag can add to your injuries instead of mitigating them.
Not wearing a seatbelt affects how the impact forces are distributed during a crash, leading to far more severe injuries. Always buckle up to protect yourself and reduce the risk of catastrophic harm.
How Effective Are Seatbelts
To put it to a point, seatbelts are very effective at reducing injury and death as a result of a car accident.
- Seat Belt Usage Rates: The national seat belt use rate in the United States reached a record high of 91.9% in 2023, continuing a general long-term trend of increasing use since 1984.
- In 2019, 36,096 passengers and drivers were killed in car accidents, and 47% of those deaths were of people not wearing seatbelts.
- In 2017, seatbelts saved an estimated 14,995 lives.
- If you buckle up in the front seat, you reduce your risk of injury or death by between 45% and 50%.
- Passengers and drivers not wearing seatbelts are 30 times more likely to eject from the car in the event of an accident.
Seatbelts are live savers, simple as that. They have been designed, redesigned, tested, and retested for decades to ensure they are as safe as possible. Wearing a seatbelt will save your life, save you from injury, and will ensure that you get the maximum compensation possible after a car accident.
What to Do If You Were Not Wearing a Seatbelt in a Car Accident
Failing to wear a seatbelt not only increases the risk of severe injuries but also impacts your insurance claim by allowing insurance companies to assign partial fault to you under Florida’s comparative negligence rule. However, this doesn’t mean you lose your right to compensation. Here’s how to protect your rights and build a strong case:
- Document Everything:
Take photos of the accident scene, your injuries, and the vehicles involved.
Collect witness statements and obtain a copy of the police report to support your claim. - Explain Seatbelt Non-Use:
If there was a valid reason for not wearing a seatbelt (e.g., a malfunctioning restraint or a medical condition), share this with your attorney. They can present this as part of your defense to minimize any fault assigned to you. - Consult a Car Accident Lawyer:
At Steinger, Greene & Feiner, our experienced Florida car accident lawyers understand how seatbelt non-use affects insurance claims. We can build a defense to counter arguments from insurance companies that aim to reduce your compensation. Whether it’s proving that your injuries were not entirely due to the lack of a seatbelt or challenging fault determinations, we’re here to help.
Not wearing a seatbelt doesn’t mean you’re not entitled to compensation. With the right legal representation, you can defend your rights and overcome challenges posed by insurance companies.
If you were involved in a car accident and you were not wearing a seatbelt, speak with an experienced car accident attorney as soon as possible. Call for a free consultation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: (800) 560-5059. Remember, there are no reasons to not wear a seatbelt, so buckle up!
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