If you have been injured in a road traffic accident that wasn’t your fault, you can claim compensation. If you were not wearing a seat belt at the time of your accident, you can still claim for compensation, but your compensation might be reduced to reflect you not wearing a seatbelt, which is breaking the law.
You cannot be held responsible for the accident, but it can be seen that you contributed to the extent of your injury, as your injury may have been less severe if you wore a seatbelt. This is called contributory negligence and you can be seen to be partially responsible for your injury.
There will be no contributory negligence if by not wearing a seat belt, there was no further impact on the injuries you sustained.
If by not wearing a seat belt, you contributed to the extent of your injury, the compensation received can be reduced by up to 25%.
This is outlined in the case of Froom v Butcher [1976], where the court ruled that if there had been a failure to wear a seat belt which contributed to the injuries in some way, then there is a reduction to be made.
- 15% reduction of compensation if failure to wear seat belt contributed to injuries in some way.
- 25% reduction of compensation if by wearing seat belt your injuries would have been completely prevented, or would have been significantly reduced in severity.
Although your compensation can be reduced by your contributory negligence, the reduction can never be more than 25%. Do not let the reduction prevent you from claiming if you have been in a road traffic accident that wasn’t your fault. Call us free now on 0800 634 75 75. We are personal injury specialists and we can give you further free advice about claiming compensation for your accident.
