| In the State of California, all occupants in a motor | | | | injury action. If you are involved in an accident through |
| vehicle are required to wear a seatbelt anytime the | | | | no fault of your own and injured, at some point, the |
| vehicle is in motion. Billboards up and down our | | | | question of whether you were belted will undoubtedly |
| freeways proclaim "Click It Or Ticket". | | | | come up. |
| The fact is, seatbelts save lives! This is no joke and | | | | This is especially so if the injuries you suffered are |
| California legislators in the last few years have passed | | | | ones that could arguably have been prevented had |
| legislation allowing peace officers not only to cite | | | | you been wearing your seatbelt. Defense attorneys |
| drivers who fail to wear their seatbelts, but to use | | | | are sufficiently savvy to know that while their client |
| one's failure to wear a seat belt as a basis for a | | | | may have been the legal cause of the accident |
| traffic stop in the absence of your committing any | | | | complained of, they may not have been the legal |
| other offense. Notwithstanding the provisions of the | | | | cause of the injuries claimed by the plaintiff. If the |
| Vehicle Code that require use of a seatbelt when | | | | injured party would not have been injured had he or |
| operating or riding in a vehicle, your failure to buckle-up | | | | she been wearing a seatbelt, the fact that the accident |
| could seriously impact, if not limit your right to recovery | | | | was the fault of the defendant is of little to no |
| in a personal injury action if involved in an accident. As | | | | consequence. The injuries suffered were a direct |
| a matter of law, one who is negligent in the operation | | | | result of the injured party's failure to wear his or her |
| of their vehicle is liable for all damage caused thereby. | | | | seatbelt. That being the case, the injured party is |
| It is well known that everyone operating a vehicle on | | | | precluded from recovering anything for these injuries. |
| our roadways has an obligation to exercise due care | | | | This concept is not new however, with a new set of |
| so as to avoid causing an unreasonable risk of harm | | | | jury instructions recently adopted which more clearly |
| to others. The breach of this duty constitutes | | | | spell out the law in this regard, jurors now have little |
| negligence. | | | | difficulty grasping this concept and have, of late, been |
| Little known is the fact that everyone operating a | | | | more apt to deny recovery to a plaintiff where it is |
| vehicle on our roadways or traveling as a passenger | | | | shown that their injuries resulted from their own |
| in a vehicle on our roadways has a duty to avoid | | | | negligence in failing to buckle-up. At EISENBERG LAW |
| creating an unreasonable risk of harm to themselves. | | | | GROUP, we encourage everyone to buckle up and |
| The breach of this duty constitutes comparative fault | | | | drive safely. |
| and could serve as a bar to recovery in a personal | | | | |