Recovering Compensation After a Tampa Car Accident Without a Seatbelt
You can still recover compensation after a car accident in Tampa, even if you weren’t wearing a seatbelt. However, your payout may be reduced. Under Florida’s shared fault rule, your damages can be decreased proportionately to your share of fault.
For instance, if a jury finds you 20 percent responsible for your own injuries because you weren’t buckled, your compensation can be reduced by that amount. However, you may still have a strong claim, especially if another driver caused the crash through reckless or distracted driving.
At Matthews Injury Law, we’ve represented many injured people who assumed that not wearing a seatbelt disqualifies them from any recovery. Our Tampa car accident lawyers proved them wrong by recovering maximum compensation for them. We can do the same for you.
How Does the State’s Seatbelt Law Affect Compensation in Tampa Car Crashes?
Under the Florida Safety Belt Law, drivers, front-seat passengers, and anyone under 18 years of age are required to wear seatbelts. While failing to buckle up is a non-criminal traffic violation, it plays a role in personal injury claims.
Insurance providers usually argue that unbelted victims share responsibility for their injuries. However, this so-called seatbelt defense doesn’t erase the at-fault driver’s negligence. It simply gives the defense a chance to argue that some injuries might have been less severe if you’d been restrained.
In practice, juries consider how much not wearing a seatbelt contributed to the harm. For instance, if another driver ran a red light and caused a collision that left you with a broken arm and head trauma, you can still recover damages for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain. However, your total payout may be adjusted based on how much not wearing a seatbelt during the crash contributed to your injuries.
What Compensation Can I Recover After a Tampa Car Accident?
Even if you weren’t wearing a seatbelt, you may still recover compensation for your economic and non-economic losses. Economic damages encompass tangible costs, including hospital bills, physical therapy expenses, lost income, and reduced earning capacity. Non-economic damages recognize the personal impact, including the pain, anxiety, and daily limitations that follow a serious crash.
Florida law likewise allows recovery for long-term medical care and, in some cases, future loss of income. If a family member was killed in the accident, surviving relatives may pursue wrongful death damages, including funeral costs and loss of companionship.
Each category of damages serves to make you whole and account for what the crash took from your health, livelihood, and sense of normalcy. The more evidence your Tampa car accident lawyer can connect between the driver’s negligence and your losses, the stronger your overall recovery will be.
Why Legal Help from a Tampa Car Accident Lawyer Matters
Insurance adjusters know that unbelted victims make easy targets for blame. Without representation, they may downplay the other driver’s fault or exaggerate your role in the injury. Handling a claim involving the seatbelt defense takes strategy and substantial evidence.
Your Tampa car accident attorney can show precisely how the crash happened and why the other driver’s actions remain the leading cause of your injuries. That may involve:
- Investigating traffic camera footage or witness statements.
- Using medical experts, it was used to demonstrate that specific injuries would have occurred regardless of seatbelt use.
- Challenging assumptions about seatbelt effectiveness in side-impact or rear-end collisions.
- Calculating full damages, including hospital bills, therapy costs, and lost future earnings, to secure all your crash-related losses.
Talk to Our Tampa Car Accident Attorneys
Discover how our Tampa car accident lawyers at Matthews Injury Law can assist you. Contact us online or call 813-530-1000.