You probably remember being asked this question when you were a child waiting in the backseat of a car for your next adventure to begin. For most of us, wearing our seat belts is automatic anytime we are in a moving vehicle. If it’s not, it should be.
Seat belts are crucial to protecting the safety of you and other passengers in the event of a crash. So much so, the law has recognized for several years now that a driver or passenger who is not responsible for a collision but suffers injury will be held responsible to a certain degree for their own injuries.
New Brunswick’s Insurance Act automatically reduces compensation claims by 25% for people who are injured or die in a motor vehicle accident if they failed to properly wear a seat belt at the time of the collision*. The only way to rebut the automatic deduction is by proving the failure to wear a seat belt did not contribute to the bodily injury or death—a feat that is rarely successful.
So, next time you gear up for your next adventure remember to ask yourself: “Is my seatbelt buckled?”
Correia & Collins represents accident and injury victims. Contact us by phone at 506-648-1700 or online for advice. Your first consultation is free.
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*Insurance Act, RSNB 1973, c I-12.
I have been representing accident injury victims for over 40 years. My practice has given me the privilege of appearing before all levels of Courts in New Brunswick and speaking for victims who have suffered injuries from the mildest to the most catastrophic, including wrongful death. Being able to help victims and their families is my passion. Practicing in the firm I co-founded for this purpose is a great source of pride for me.