Will it hurt my car accident case if I was not wearing a seat belt?

SEAT BELTS SAVE LIVES

The safest thing you can do when you get in your vehicle is put on your seat belt.  According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, a typical driver in Alabama has a 54.1% probability of being involved in an injury or fatal crash while driving an automobile in their lifetime.  For adult drivers, seat belts reduce the risk of death by 45%.   Appropriate restraints, such as car seats and booster seats reduce the risk of death by 54% for toddlers and 71% for infants.   Based on these statistics provided by the Alabama Department of Public Health, there should be no question as to whether or not you wear your seat belt.

DOES FAILING TO WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT AT THE TIME OF A CAR ACCIDENT NEGATIVELY AFFECT YOUR ACCIDENT CASE?

What happens if you are in a car wreck caused by another driver and you are not wearing your seat belt? Failing to wear your seat belt could have a negative impact on your car accident case.  You need to inform your Birmingham car accident attorney if you were not wearing your seat belt at the time of the wreck.  There is no law in Alabama that bans a person that was not wearing their seat belt from recovering monies in a car accident lawsuit.  In fact, the fact that you were not wearing a seat belt is generally inadmissible in the court of law.  However, the defendant can introduce your failure to wear a seat belt into evidence under the following exception. That fact may be introduced into evidence if the purpose is to show that your failure to wear the seat belt is the proximate cause of your injury. If the judge allows the fact that you were not wearing your seat belt to come into evidence, the jury may reduce its award of damages.  The defendant may still be found at fault. However, the jury may not award you as much money as it would have if you were wearing your seat belt.

The best practice is to wear your seat belt each and every time you get into your vehicle.  Seat belts save lives, especially when you are involved in a car accident.