Seat belts save lives, and North Carolina law generally requires drivers and passengers to wear them. But what happens if you are injured in a car accident while not wearing one? Could that decision prevent you from recovering compensation, even when another driver caused the collision?
The answer may surprise you. North Carolina has specific legal protections concerning seat belt nonuse in personal injury cases. Understanding those protections can matter when you pursue compensation after a serious crash.
What Does North Carolina’s Seat Belt Law Require?
Under North Carolina General Statute § 20-135.2A, occupants of vehicles equipped with seat belts generally must wear them whenever the vehicle is moving forward on a public street or highway.
The law applies to front-seat and rear-seat occupants, although certain exceptions exist. Children also have separate passenger restraint requirements.
Failing to wear a required seat belt can result in a traffic infraction. However, receiving a citation and being legally responsible for a collision are two different matters.
Can an Insurance Company Use Seat Belt Nonuse Against You?
North Carolina follows a strict contributory negligence rule. Generally, if an injured person contributes to causing an accident through their own negligence, they may be barred from recovering compensation.
However, the state’s seat belt statute provides an important distinction.
Under § 20-135.2A(d), evidence that someone failed to wear a seat belt generally cannot be introduced in a civil proceeding, including a personal injury lawsuit, except in limited circumstances specified by the statute.
This means that not wearing a seat belt does not automatically prevent an injured person from pursuing compensation after a collision caused by another driver’s negligence.
The law distinguishes between failing to use a safety restraint and causing the accident.
What If the Other Driver Claims Your Injuries Would Have Been Less Severe?
An insurance company may question whether wearing a seat belt would have reduced the severity of someone’s injuries.
However, North Carolina’s restrictions on seat belt evidence are intended to prevent defendants from using nonuse to undermine an injured person’s claim in court.
Rather than assuming an insurer’s argument is legally valid, it is important to examine the applicable law and the actual circumstances of the collision.
Other questions, including whether the injured person contributed to causing the crash through separate conduct, may still affect the case.
How Can Dewey, Ramsay & Hunt Help?
A successful car accident claim requires more than identifying a traffic violation. Establishing another driver’s negligence and documenting the resulting injuries are essential.
At Dewey, Ramsay & Hunt, P.A., our Charlotte personal injury attorneys can investigate the collision, evaluate insurance company arguments, gather supporting evidence, and pursue compensation for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and other recoverable losses.
If you were seriously injured in a North Carolina car accident, don’t assume a seat belt violation eliminates your legal options.
Call 704-377-3737 or contact us online for a free consultation. There is no attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you.
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Because every case is different, the description of awards and cases previously managed by our law firm does not guarantee a similar outcome in current or future cases.