Under Florida law generally, passengers in a motor vehicle are required to wear a seat belt. The law, cited below, is specifically referring to front passengers. If you do not wear your seat belt and are injured in an accident, under the statute, a jury may consider fact that in awarding you damages, as you will see below and obviously the law is suggesting that the damages may be REDUCED if someone is not wearing a seat belt.
The applicable Florida Statute states:
The seat belt statute provides, in part:
(4) It is unlawful for any person
(a) To operate a motor vehicle unless each front seat passenger of the vehicle under the age of 16 years is restrained by a safety belt or by a child restraint device pursuant to s. 316.613, if applicable, or
(b)To operate a motion vehicle in this state unless the person is restrained by a safety belt.
(5) It is unlawful for any person 16 years of age or older to be a passenger in the front seat of a motor vehicle unless such person is restrained by a safety belt when the vehicle is in motion.
Subsection ten (10) of F.S. 316.614 discusses how the seat belt statute should be used in a civil action:
A violation of the provisions of this section shall not constitute negligence per se, nor shall such violation be used as prima facie evidence of negligence or be considered in mitigation of damages, but such violation may be considered as evidence of comparative negligence, in any civil action.
Thus, in Florida, not wearing a seatbelt can significantly impact your personal injury case. To the extent that a jury finds that you are comparatively at fault for not wearing your seat belt, they can reduce your damages by assigning you a percentage of fault and your damages would be reduced accordingly. Thus, if a jury finds that your damages are $100,000.00 but you are comparatively at fault to the percentage of 90 percent for not wearing your seat belt
Of course, a case based on facts such as the facts referenced in this blog is unique. Thus, your case should be judged based its specific facts, so please call my office to discuss the specific facts of your case. The advice in this blog is intended to be general and should not to be used as specific advice for your case, as the slightest difference in the facts could change the result. Also, this blog is based on Florida law and therefore the laws of another state or country could vary significantly from Florida.
