Buckle up — the importance of wearing a seat belt for your personal injury lawsuit
Every time you enter a vehicle, putting on your seat belt should be the first thing you do. This simple habit is not only one of the most effective ways to protect yourself from being injured in a car accident, but it also can play a significant role in any subsequent personal injury lawsuit. While failing to wear a seat belt does not eliminate your right to sue for injuries stemming from a motor vehicle accident, it can complicate the process by allowing the defence to raise the legal issue of “contributory negligence.”
What is “contributory negligence”?
A personal injury lawsuit aims to compensate you for losses related to your accident-related injuries, including damages for your pain and suffering, past and future medical expenses, housekeeping and home maintenance needs, past and future income loss and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in relation to the accident.
Any party which a court determines to have contributed to these losses may be responsible for paying for a percentage of them — including you. If a court finds that your behaviour or actions contributed to your own injury or losses, while failing to take prudent steps to look out for your own well-being, then you will be deemed to have been “contributorily negligent.” A court will then reduce your damages in the lawsuit by the percentage they deem you to be at fault for your own injuries and losses.
By how much could not wearing a seat belt reduce my compensation?
Failing to wear or improperly wearing a seat belt is one of the most common ways that plaintiffs in lawsuits arising from motor vehicle accidents are found to be contributorily negligent.
In Ontario, to determine your percentage of responsibility for your injuries, the court will consider, among other factors, whether wearing a seat belt during the accident would have completely prevented you from being injured, or whether the seat belt may have reduced the degree by which you were injured and by how much.
The court will then assign your percentage of responsibility within a range from zero per cent (where a seat belt would not have prevented any of your injuries) up to 25 per cent (where a seat belt would have prevented substantially all of your injuries).Your damage award is then reduced by the percentage attributed to your contributory negligence.
Best practices
Failing to wear a seat belt is, frankly, a foolish thing to do. Aside from the obvious increased risk to your safety, it can also end up costing you a lot of money if you are injured in a car accident.
Wearing a seat belt is always your best choice. However, even if you are injured while not wearing a seat belt, an experienced personal injury lawyer can advise you of the possible effects on your case, and work to minimize the impact of any allegations of contributory negligence.
This article was originally published by The Hamilton Spectator.
