A seatbelt is a standard and arguably one of the most pivotal safety features installed in all standard motor vehicles. There is a reason why Maryland law requires all drivers and passengers to wear a properly adjusted and fastened seatbelt whenever they are in a moving vehicle. In a scenario where you devastatingly get involved in a car crash, your potential personal injury claim may grow all the more complex if you or one of your passengers failed to have a buckled seatbelt. With that being said, please follow along to find out whether you have any legal options if you weren’t wearing a seatbelt at the time of your collision and how a proficient St. Mary’s County car accident lawyer at The Dorsey Law Firm can help you recover in some conceivable way.
What are my legal options if I wasn’t wearing a seatbelt during my car accident?
Unfortunately, Maryland is one of the last states that observes the contributory negligence doctrine. This is a strict doctrine that operates with an “all or nothing” mentality. Specifically, it holds that if you, an injured person in a car accident, are found to be only one percent at fault for the event, you may be automatically barred from an opportunity to sue. Further, you may be prevented from recovering any damages you incurred from the event.
So, if the Maryland civil court discovers that you were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of your accident, they may dismiss your case and you may walk away with $0 in recovery. This is because they may find you one percent or more at fault, as driving without a seatbelt is an illegal and negligent act.
How can I prove I was wearing a seatbelt during my car accident?
Let’s say that you were indeed wearing a properly adjusted and fastened seatbelt at the time of your car accident. However, the other involved driver, as the defendant, may be wrongfully accusing you of not doing so. With this, they may argue that your incurred injuries would not have been as severe if you did wear one. Though unethical, this may be their strategy to avoid having to compensate you.
If this wrongful accusation is made against you, you must fight back with sufficient evidence of your seatbelt usage. For one, you may obtain traffic camera video footage of your wearing a seatbelt at a stop in the moments leading up to your collision. Or, you may ask bystanders to testify on their witnessing a seatbelt strapped across you before, during, and after your collision. Lastly, you may ask a medical expert to testify on how your incurred injuries demonstrate the use of a seatbelt upon impact.
As an injured driver or passenger, regardless of your seatbelt usage, there is no one better you can turn to than a talented St. Mary’s County auto accident lawyer from our firm. So please, call us at The Dorsey Law Firm as soon as possible.
