When you’re involved in a Missouri car accident and seriously hurt, you might hear the term “seat belt defense” come up if you weren’t wearing one at the time of the crash. Simply put, this defense allows the other side (like the driver at fault or their insurance company) to argue that because you didn’t use the belt, your injuries were worse than they needed to be. Insurers lean on this tactic to reduce the payout on your St. Louis car accident claim.
Speaking with an experienced St. Louis car accident lawyer can help ensure your rights are fully protected. Schedule your free consultation today.
Missouri’s Seat Belt Laws: Who Has to Wear a Seat Belt?
Missouri law requires all drivers and front-seat passengers in most vehicles to wear one. Additionally, everyone under 16 has to be fastened into an appropriate restraint, and if you’re under 18 in a truck, you also must use one. There are a handful of exceptions for health reasons, farm or ranch tasks, and for vehicles manufactured before 1968.
Missouri enforces seat belt use as a “secondary” law, so police can’t pull you over just for failing to wear one; they can only ticket you for it if they stop you for something else like speeding or unsafe lane changes.
Limits on the Seat Belt Defense Under Missouri Law
While Missouri law lets defendants introduce your seat belt use into evidence, there are strict limits:
Expert Testimony is Required
The defense needs to bring in expert medical or engineering testimony to clearly tie the lack of a seat belt to additional injury. The judge or jury can’t just speculate.
It Doesn’t Bar Recovery
Even if you weren’t buckled up, you can still get compensation. The seat belt defense only affects the amount, not the possibility, of your recovery.
How Damages Are Reduced
First, the jury decides if you had any fault in causing the actual crash, applying any normal comparative fault rules to your total payout. Only after those reductions can the jury consider whether not wearing a seat belt made things worse. And under the law, any reduction for seat belt non-use cannot be more than 1% of your remaining damages after other fault has already been considered.
The “seat belt defense” is a tool Missouri defendants use to try to lower big damage awards, but strict protections ensure injured people don’t lose out on everything just for not wearing their seatbelt.
How a Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer Challenges the Seat Belt Defense
If an insurance company or opposing party raises the seat belt defense, you don’t have to accept a lower payout without a fight. A Missouri personal injury lawyer will know how to push back and protect you. Here’s what they can do:
Disputing the Link Between Seat Belt Use and Your Injuries
One of the strategies is to challenge whether not wearing a seat belt actually made a difference in your particular injuries. Your lawyer can argue that even if you had been wearing one, your injuries would have been just as severe due to the nature of the accident.
Bringing in Expert Medical and Accident Reconstruction Evidence
Effective attorneys often team up with medical experts and accident reconstructionists. These specialists can provide detailed analyses to show how your body was affected in the crash and offer evidence that challenges the defense’s claims.
Keeping Focus on Who Was Really at Fault
A car accident lawyer’ in St. Louis’s job is to make sure the point of the case doesn’t get lost – this should be mostly about who’s at fault, not whether you were wearing a seatbelt. If an insurance company is trying to blame you for some of your injuries, a lawyer can assist and help you fight back.
If you need help, contact us today to schedule a free consultation with our personal injury lawyer in St. Louis.