Can I Sue If I Was Not Wearing a Seatbelt?

 Posted on February 06, 2025 in Car Accidents

With a few exceptions, Illinois law requires most drivers and passengers to use seatbelts while traveling in a motor vehicle. However, in practice, many people choose not to use these safety devices. If they are involved in a collision, their chances of suffering more severe injuries are higher.

Does not wearing a seatbelt disqualify you from seeking compensation for your damages? What is contributory fault? If you sustain injuries in a truck or car accident, a dedicated South Chicago, IL personal injury lawyer can fight to help you collect the highest available payout.

Does Wearing Seatbelts Really Reduce Risks?

Whether you like using a seatbelt or not, the following facts indicate that safety belts do protect users:

• If you are not using a safety belt, you are 30 times more likely to be ejected in a crash.

• Seatbelts lower the likelihood of severe injuries by 50 percent.

• Using a seatbelt reduces the chance of fatalities by 45 percent.

• In 2022, 50 percent of passengers who died in traffic accidents were not wearing seatbelts.

Although a seatbelt cannot prevent injuries or fatalities, the restraint it provides can keep motorists and passengers from experiencing more serious injuries. That can significantly impact your pursuit of compensation after a crash.

Can I Still Get a Settlement If I Was Not Using a Seatbelt?

Every state has negligence laws governing who can pursue a claim for compensation after a personal injury accident. Illinois follows a model of modified comparative negligence. If you are less than 50 percent at fault for your collision, you qualify to seek damages. However, the amount you receive is reduced accordingly. For instance, if you are 25 percent at fault, the most you can recover is 75 percent of your eligible damages.

Insurance companies are notorious for attempting to minimize claim payments. The liable insurer in your crash may say that your injuries would not have been as severe if you had been wearing a seatbelt and it might attempt to assign contributory fault to you, even if the at-fault driver was drunk, excessively speeding, or otherwise obviously responsible for the accident.

Because your payout is reduced according to your percentage of fault, you are unlikely to receive the full amount you are entitled to without the assistance of a skilled attorney. We can ensure that fault is assigned fairly and fight to keep the liable insurer from shortchanging you.

Consult a Hyde Park, IL Car Accident Attorney

If you are injured in a car accident while not wearing a seatbelt, you do not have to fight the insurer on your own. Kadzai Law Group, LLC will be by your side, aggressively advocating for your best interests. Call 312-229-0050 or contact us online now to book your no-cost case evaluation with our knowledgeable Chicago, IL personal injury lawyer.