If you are injured in an accident that was not your fault, then you can make a claim for compensation against the driver of the vehicle responsible, even if you weren’t wearing a seatbelt.
However, failing to wear a seatbelt may mean that you suffered injuries that were more severe, or that would never have been suffered at all, had a seatbelt been worn.
If either of these situations apply, then there can be a reduction in the amount of the compensation recovered for contributory negligence.
In order to succeed in this partial defence, it is up to the defendant to prove that at the time of the accident the seatbelt was available, was in working order and that the injuries were made worse or would not have occurred at all if a properly adjusted seatbelt had been worn.
If it cannot be established that wearing a seatbelt would have made any difference to the extent of the injury suffered, then there will be no reduction in the compensation payable for failing to wear a seatbelt.
