As experienced Buffalopersonal injury attorneys, we advise everyone to wear a seat belt. There is little debate that in many cases, wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of injury. If you were in a motor vehicle accident and not wearing a seat belt, however, this fact does not bar you from seeking damages in a personal injury lawsuit.
Vehicle and Traffic Law section 1229-C[8] provides that non-compliance with regulations requiring the wearing of seat belts “shall not be admissible as evidence in any civil action in a court of law in regard to the issue of liability but may be introduced into evidence in mitigation of damages provided the party introducing said evidence has pleaded such non-compliance as an affirmative defense.” This means that failure to wear a seat belt cannot be used as evidence that you were at fault for the accident, but it may be used to establish that you would have suffered lesser injuries if you had been wearing it.
Even when presenting such evidence in an effort to reduce the damages you receive, the defense must comply with certain rules. First, they must have presented beforehand that they will be using this defense. Second, the courts have required that they submit competent evidence regarding how wearing a seat belt would have changed the injuries. In most cases, this means that they will need an expert who can provide objective evidence of how a seat belt would have changed your movement within the vehicle and how that, in turn, would have reduced your injuries.
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