Florida has required front seat occupants to wear a fastened seatbelt since its safety belt law, chapter 86-49, took effect in 1986. It is now Fla. Stat. s. 316.614. Chapter 2009-32 removed the secondary enforcement limit that used to sit in s. 316.614(8), so an unfastened belt is now reason enough on its own for an officer to pull you over. If you were hurt in a crash while unbelted, the question that matters is what that does to your claim.
Insurers look for reasons to pay less, and an unfastened belt is one of the first things they raise. Fla. Stat. s. 316.614(10) sets the rule: a seatbelt violation is not negligence per se, is not prima facie evidence of negligence, and may not be considered in mitigation of damages, but it may be considered as evidence of comparative negligence in a civil action. In practice the defense has to show that being unbelted actually made your injuries worse, and a jury can then put a share of the fault on you.
If you've been injured in a car accident in Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach, regardless of whether or not you were wearing your seatbelt, call Weinstein Legal Team for a free consultation today. Our Florida personal injury lawyers handle crash claims in Broward and Palm Beach counties. We will go through the crash report, the medical records, and the seatbelt question, and tell you where the claim stands.
What is the “Seatbelt Defense?”
The seatbelt defense is the argument that part of your injury came from being unbelted rather than from the crash itself. It does not say the collision was your fault. It concedes the other driver caused the crash and argues you made the result worse. Florida allows it through Fla. Stat. s. 316.614(10), which lets a jury treat the belt violation as evidence of comparative negligence.
It is not an automatic discount. The defense has to put on evidence that the unfastened belt contributed to the specific injuries you are claiming. A jury cannot assign you a share of the fault on the bare fact that you were unbelted. The wider principle it sits inside, comparative negligence, runs through all of Florida personal injury law.
What is Comparative Negligence?
Florida uses modified comparative negligence. Under Fla. Stat. s. 768.81(6), a plaintiff found more than 50 percent at fault for their own injury recovers nothing at all. At 50 percent or less, the award is reduced by the plaintiff's percentage of fault. That has been the rule since March 24, 2023. Before that date Florida was a pure comparative fault state with no cutoff, and older articles still describe it that way.
Take two examples. If Car 1 rear-ends Car 2 while Car 2 waits at a stoplight, the driver of Car 1 may be 100 percent at fault and the driver of Car 2 zero. If instead Car 1 runs a red light and is t-boned by a speeding Car 2, a jury can put part of the blame on Car 2's driver for the speed. If that share is 30 percent, Car 2's driver collects 70 percent of the damages. If it is 60 percent, Car 2's driver collects nothing.
Is Not Wearing a Seatbelt Treated as a Failure to Mitigate?
No. Fla. Stat. s. 316.614(10) says in terms that a seatbelt violation may not be considered in mitigation of damages. It runs as comparative negligence instead. The difference matters, because comparative negligence is apportioned by the jury as a percentage of fault and is then subject to the 50 percent bar in Fla. Stat. s. 768.81(6), while failure to mitigate is a separate doctrine about what you did after you were hurt, such as skipping the treatment your doctor ordered.
So if a jury puts 20 percent of the fault on an unbelted plaintiff, that plaintiff recovers 80 percent of the damages.
Seatbelt vs. Non-Seatbelt Accident Statistics
Two agencies publish the numbers here, and they are not the same body. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers the country and publishes its seat belt research. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles covers this state. Across 2013 to 2016, FLHSMV recorded that an average of 44.19 percent of people killed in Florida crashes were not wearing a safety belt, ranging from 47.41 percent in 2013 down to 41.40 percent in 2016.
Damages for Accident Victims Who Weren't Wearing Their Seat Belts
The amount of compensation you receive for any car accident claim varies directly with your damages. Personal injury law divides damages into two general categories: economic damages and non-economic damages, with a third category, punitive damages, being assigned in cases where the defendant's actions were egregious.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the monetary damages to which an attorney can easily assign a price tag. These can be extensive, which is why you should have a personal injury lawyer tabulate and itemize your economic damages for you. Economic damages include doctor bills, physical therapy, medication, medical tests, psychological counseling, lost wages, vehicle damages, and much more.
Non-Economic Damages
Accidents can be traumatic and physically painful experiences. Merely receiving reimbursement for your expenses falls short of fully compensating you for your injuries. Personal injury attorneys, like Justin Weinstein and his legal team, use comparable damage payouts from similar injury cases to determine non-economic damages for their clients.
Punitive Damages
Florida allows punitive damages, but they are rare. Fla. Stat. s. 768.72 requires the court's permission before a punitive claim can even be pleaded, and s. 768.73(1)(a) generally caps them at three times the compensatory damages or $500,000, whichever is greater. Fla. Stat. s. 768.736 removes the cap where the defendant was under the influence of alcohol or drugs to the point of losing normal faculties.
Once your total damages are calculated, your attorney sends the responsible insurer a demand. If you were unbelted, expect the insurer to argue for a percentage reduction under the comparative negligence rule.
Keep an eye on the filing deadline while that plays out. Under Fla. Stat. s. 95.11(5)(a), a negligence claim that accrued after March 24, 2023 has to be filed within two years of the crash. Settlement talks do not stop that clock.
Frequently Asked Questions About Car Accident With No Seatbelt
These questions are some of the most frequently asked by clients who have been involved in no-seat-belt accidents. If you've been injured in an accident, contact a car accident attorney in your area. In Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach, contact Weinstein Legal Team for a free consultation.
How will the insurance company know if I wasn't wearing a seatbelt?
There are several ways that the insurance company can find out if you were wearing your seatbelt, but the most common one is the police report. Florida crash reports have a box to indicate whether or not you were wearing your seatbelt. If you told the officer you weren't or they were able to determine that you weren't wearing your seatbelt based on evidence from the crash, they will indicate it on the report.
How much can I lose from my settlement by not wearing my seatbelt?
It depends on the injuries. A seatbelt would not have prevented every injury, and the defense only gets a reduction for the injuries it can tie to the unfastened belt. The reduction is a percentage of fault under Fla. Stat. s. 768.81, so the larger the damages, the more each percentage point costs you.
How can I afford an attorney for my no-seat-belt car accident?
The personal injury attorneys who represent plaintiffs in the state of Florida work on a contingency basis. That means that they only receive payment if your case is settled or successfully litigated through the courts. That means you shouldn't have to pay out of pocket for professional legal advice.
Will an attorney represent me if I was in a car accident without a seatbelt?
Not wearing a seatbelt does not disqualify you from bringing a claim in Florida. It is a fault argument the defense can raise, not a bar to recovery. Personal injury attorneys offer free case evaluations to potential clients. If you're concerned about the viability of your case, schedule an appointment to talk to a personal injury lawyer in your area. If you were injured in Florida, call Weinstein Legal Team for a free consultation.
Personal Injury Lawyers in Florida
The personal injury lawyers at the Weinstein Legal Team handle car accident claims for residents of Broward and Palm Beach counties. If you were hurt in a crash, seatbelt or not, call for a free consultation. We work on a contingency basis, so there is no fee unless we recover money for you. You will not owe attorney's fees or costs unless we recover for you.
