Under New York State Law, all Buffalo automobile drivers and front seat passengers are required to wear a seat belt. Rear seat passengers over the age of sixteen are not required to wear seat belts, although it is a good idea to do so.
If you are in an auto accident and not wearing a seat belt, the amount of damages you recover may be reduced based on your decision not to protect yourself by wearing a seat belt. If the defense chooses to argue that your damages should be reduced based on this factor, the burden is on them to prove that you did not, in fact, have your seat belt on. If they successfully establish this, what else they must prove depends on where you were sitting.
If you were in the front seat and required by law to wear a seat belt, you are considered negligent by law, and the defense only has to prove that some, or all, of your injuries resulted from the lack of a seat belt to obtain a reduction in the damages you will be awarded. If, however, you were in a position in the vehicle where use of a seat belt was not mandatory, the defense also must prove that a “reasonably prudent passenger” would have used the available seat belt. The jury only may reduce damages based on your failure to use a seat belt if it first finds that a reasonably prudent person would have worn one in the same situation.
If you have been injured in a car accident and have any questions, please feel free to call us at 716-542-5444.
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