Seatbelt Defense in Missouri Injury Cases

In any car accident where an occupant is not restrained by a seatbelt there is said to be two collisions. The first collision the occupant is subjected to is when another vehicle collides with the vehicle he or she is in. The second collision occurs when the occupant’s body is subjected to rapid movements that would not have occurred if not for his or her failure to wear a seatbelt. In Missouri, evidence of an injured person’s failure to wear a seatbelt can only cause a minimal reduction in an award of damages. Further, specific criteria must be met before the evidence can be presented to the jury.

Missouri Revised Statute § 307.178(4) governs the use of seatbelt evidence in a civil injury trial. While failure to wear a seatbelt is not to be considered evidence of comparative fault, it can be used to mitigate damages if there is “expert evidence proving that a failure to wear a safety belt contributed to the injuries claimed by plaintiff.”

If the jury believes the defense expert’s testimony that the failure to wear a safety belt contributed to the plaintiff’s claimed injury, they can decide to reduce the plaintiff’s recovery by no more than one percent after any comparative negligence has been computed.

While this amount may seem to restrict a jury’s ability to place fault on the plaintiff for failing to use safety devices available to him or her, the result of such expert testimony may have a much bigger impact. It seems likely that a jury award would be reduced if the jury did in fact believe the failure to wear a seatbelt caused a significant amount of injures. Of course, this will likely depend on how the accident occurred and the overall negligence of the defendant.

To discuss your legal options as a result of being injured in an accident, contact Henderson & Waterkotte, P.C. today. There is no fee unless we recover compensation on your behalf.