You may cautiously buckle your seatbelt every time you get behind the wheel or become a passenger in someone else’s vehicle. But in an incident of epic bad luck, you may find yourself involved in an auto accident on the one, rare occurrence that you do not have your seatbelt on. While you may be certain that another driver’s negligence prompted the ultimate collision, you may be hesitant to file a claim against them with the seatbelt factor hanging over your head. Well, if this is your case, please read on to discover whether you can sue if you weren’t wearing a seatbelt and how a seasoned Toronto car accident lawyer at Merricks Law Group, P.A. can help you explore your accessible legal options.
What should I know about Ontario’s seatbelt laws?
While you may already be well aware of Ontario’s seatbelt laws, there is no harm in having a little refresher. Importantly, Ontario law requires all drivers and passengers to wear a properly adjusted and fastened seatbelt. With this, not only is a driver responsible for wearing a seatbelt but they are also charged with ensuring that each of their passengers is wearing one as well.
Further, drivers must have car seats and booster seats installed in their vehicles for their minor passengers. In Ontario, children must sit in a booster seat until they are at least four feet and nine inches tall, weigh more than 80 pounds, or are at least eight years of age.
Can I sue for a car accident if I wasn’t wearing a seatbelt?
Without a doubt, you are wrong for not wearing a seatbelt at the time of your car accident. However, there may still be a sliver of hope to pursue a personal injury claim against the other involved driver(s). This is thanks to Ontario’s observed contributory negligence standard. With this standard, you may still hold the legal right to recover damages in a lawsuit even if you were partially negligent in the accident event. However, the amount of your recovery may be proportional to your amount of fault.
For example, say that the court finds the other involved driver 70 percent at fault because they ran through a stop sign. Then, they may believe you to be 30 percent at fault, because your injuries may not have been so bad if you wore a seatbelt. Therefore, the court may order the other involved driver to pay for 70 percent of your claimed damages.
As an injured driver or passenger, regardless of your seatbelt usage, there is no one better you can turn to than a competent Toronto auto accident lawyer from our firm. So please, call us at Merricks Law Group, P.A. as soon as possible.
