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Does Wearing a Seatbelt Affect My Personal Injury Case?

person buckling their seat belt in car

Understanding the Seat Belt Defense & How It's Applied in Nevada

person buckling their seat belt in carAll drivers and passengers should wear a seatbelt whenever they get into a vehicle to help prevent serious injury during an accident. In addition to keeping you safe, wearing a seatbelt is a crucial aspect of personal injury claims. In this blog, we explain how not wearing a seatbelt can impact your personal injury lawsuit.

How Your Seatbelt Impacts Your Claim

In Nevada no one can prevent you from filing a personal injury lawsuit, even if you weren't wearing a seat belt at the time of your accident. However, if you weren’t wearing a seatbelt at the time of your accident, it can substantially hurt the amount of compensation you are entitled to for your injuries, even if the accident wasn’t your fault. Although you pay for car insurance each month, the goal of your insurer is to payout as little as possible on any claims you make for damages after an accident. This means they will use the fact that you didn’t have a seatbelt on against you when they decide how much compensation should be paid out.

Because you weren’t wearing a seatbelt, the insurance company will find you partially responsible for any injuries you sustained in the accident. The insurance company will argue that if you were wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, your injuries would have been prevented or less severe. The insurers will assign a certain percentage of fault to you, which will come out of your percentage of the settlement offer.

Get Help from a Reno Injury Lawyer

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured in a car accident, but you weren’t wearing a seatbelt, you should immediately get in touch with our team to discuss what legal options are available to you.

At Viloria, Oliphant, Oster & Aman L.L.P., we are dedicated to helping clients throughout Reno obtain the compensation they deserve for their accident injuries. We can assess the details of your case and build a strong legal strategy that will protect your rights and interests. Let us get to work on your case today.

Call (775) 227-2280, or contact a Reno car accident attorney to find out what our legal team can do for you.

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