Car accidents can cause serious injuries whether you wear a seatbelt or not. If you were hit and you weren’t wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, you may be wondering if you can still sue for damages. You can, but not being buckled into your seat might affect your case. Our Monmouth County car accident attorneys can tell you how.
Can I Be Considered Liable Because I Wasn’t Wearing a Seatbelt?
Not wearing a seatbelt won’t cause an accident. If someone else’s negligent behavior caused a crash, then they are to blame whether or not you and your passengers were buckled up. However, just because you cannot be blamed for the accident, that doesn’t mean that the insurance companies cannot make other arguments to reduce your compensation. They will try to take advantage of this mistake or lapse in judgment in order to make their lower settlement offers seem reasonable.
Can I Still Recover Damages If I Wasn’t Wearing a Seatbelt?
You can sue for damages if you were seriously injured in a crash and you believe that someone else was to blame. You can still sue if you were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. Do not be surprised if an insurer tries to use this against you though.
Their primary goal is to reduce how much they have to pay you. They will try to argue that your injuries may have been serious, but your lack of a seatbelt was partly or solely to blame for that. Their insured driver was to blame for the crash, sure, but your irresponsible decision to not use a seatbelt was the main factor determining the graveness of your injuries. If successful, this strategy can end up reducing how much you receive in damages.
How Can a Lawyer Help Me?
This is why we recommend having an experienced lawyer on your side. A personal injury lawyer can always help with a case like this, but they can be especially helpful when you have a complicated case. If you did not have a seatbelt on at the time of the crash and that could reduce your compensation, you are going to want assistance fighting back.
A lawyer can help you find a good counterargument and show why you were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. On top of that, they can also help you argue that the seatbelt was not even a factor. You were seriously injured and would have been seriously injured regardless of whether or not this safety feature was utilized.
Schedule a Case Consultation
Do not just assume that you cannot claim compensation. If you were involved in a crash and you were not wearing a seatbelt, contact the Wilton Law Firm. We can schedule a consultation and go over the details of your case with you.
