What If I Wasn’t Wearing a Seat Belt? Tennessee Motor Vehicle Accidents and the Seat Belt Defense
You may be thinking that failure to wear a seat belt bars recovery in a Tennessee motor vehicle accident. This might seem reasonable given the fact that wearing a seat belt is mandatory, and injuries can be avoided by buckling up. In Tennessee, however, the seat belt defense is unavailable in most personal injury actions; therefore, you may be able to recover in full even if you were not wearing a seatbelt.
What is the seat belt defense? In some jurisdictions, a defendant can introduce evidence of the plaintiff’s failure to wear a seat belt in order to prevent or limit the amount of damages he/she can recover. In these jurisdictions, the defendant can introduce this evidence in all cases provided the evidence is relevant.
The seat belt defense is available in Tennessee but only for purposes of proving causation in a products liability case. To raise the defense, the defendant must allege in its answer that the plaintiff failed to wear a seatbelt. Accordingly, the defendant has the burden of proving that the plaintiff failed to buckle up, that such failure caused or increased the injuries, and the extent of those increased injuries caused by the plaintiff’s failure to wear a seatbelt.
Crashworthiness claims fall within this exception. A crashworthiness claim is a claim against the manufacturer of a vehicle alleging that the vehicle’s design made the vehicle not reasonably safe, given the likelihood (“foreseeability”) of an accident. In such a claim, the plaintiff seeks compensation from the manufacturer or vendor of the vehicle for injuries arising from the second impact—the first impact being the initial collision and the second impact being the plaintiff’s striking of the interior of the vehicle or being thrown from the vehicle. In such cases, the question is to what extent did the failure to adopt a safer design enhance the plaintiff’s injuries.
Motor vehicle accidents may seem like a simple matter, but, in many cases, a full recovery depends on bringing other parties into the suit. These parties can be state and local government, car vendors and manufacturers. Evidence of fault by other parties is often the basis of claim denials. Hiring competent legal council is thus critical.
To speak with a qualified and experienced motor vehicle accident attorney in East Tennessee, dial 866-853-2888.
Sources: TCA 55-9-604
