Does It Matter If I Did Not Have My Seatbelt On During The Car Accident?
Maryland car accident lawyers that try their cases often deal with situations involving seatbelts. Of course the law provides that you have to wear one, but the failure to wear one is not relevant in they typical car accident case. As Attorney Eric T. Kirk will tell you.
Maryland law provides that failure to wear a seatbelt is not contributory negligence, and that evidence of lack of use is not admissible in any civil trial.
Of course, that does not stop inquisitive lawyers working for the insurance company from asking if a plaintiff had his or her belt on during trial. It’s certainly a common question during depositions- and is arguably discoverable. The standard for whether or not something is discoverable is whether it is relevant, or likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence at trial. So, if the fact of seatbelt usage is irrelevant, and inadmissible, to be discoverable, there would have to be some other matter to which the answer to the question of seatbelt usage might lead. It is difficult to conceive of what that might be. In a larger sense, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA], 51% of all people killed in automobile accidents do not have their seatbelts on.
