Yes. In Texas,  you can still file a claim if you weren’t wearing a seatbelt. However, the amount you can receive will likely be reduced due to Texas’ comparative negligence laws. That means that even if the other driver causes the crash, your failure to wear a seatbelt can be used to reduce the amount of money you receive as compensation.

When it comed to not using a seatbelt, the question is usually not “Can I sue?” The real question is: How much of my case can the defense shift onto me because I didn’t buckle up?

Not Wearing a Seatbelt Does Not Automatically Kill Your Case

Many injured people assume they have no case at all if they were not wearing a seatbelt. That is not how Texas personal injury law works.

Per Texas State Statute 545.413, Texas makes it a criminal offense for a person above the age of 15 to operate a vehicle or ride in a front seat, or ride in a rear seat if under 17, without a safety belt. Child passenger restraints are covered elsewhere.

But a traffic violation is not the same thing as losing your injury claim. If another driver ran a red light, rear-ended you, drifted into your lane, or was texting behind the wheel, that driver is still liable for causing the crash. Where the issue of seatbelt use comes up is in the calculation of damages.

What comparative negligence says exactly is that the “trier of fact” (the court) must determine the “percentage of responsibility” of each party for their contributions to the damages being sought. In other words, if the reason you were ejected from the car and suffered spinal damage is because you did not wear a seatbelt, then you are majority at fault for those damages.

In addition, Texas uses what is known as the “51% bar rule” for fault:

  • The injured party may not recover damages if their percentage of fault (responsibility) is greater than 50%.
  • If their percentage of fault is not greater than 50%, the injured party can recover damages, but their award will be reduced by the amount of fault they are responsible for.

A Shifting Court: 2015 Marks Pivotal Change in Seatbelt Evidence

This assertion of fault is relatively new. In Nabors Well Services, Ltd. v. Romero (2015), the Texas Supreme Court held that relevant evidence of seatbelt use or nonuse is admissible for apportioning responsibility in civil lawsuits. The Court explained that Texas’s proportionate-responsibility framework allows juries to consider a plaintiff’s own injury-causing conduct, not just the conduct that caused the collision itself.

In other words, 2015 marked the first time in 40 years for seatbelt nonuse to be used as evidence of fault.

That was a major shift. Before that, Texas law defaulted to Carnation Co. v. Wong (1974). Carnation had been more favorable to plaintiffs on this issue by rejecting evidence of seatbelt nonuse outright; this was codified into law nine years later when Texas Legislature enacted the mandatory seat belt statute. Section 107C(j) of that law explicitly forbade the use or nonuse of a safety belt as evidence in a civil trial.

However, after Romero, lawyers may now bring evidence that a seatbelt was not used into the courtroom, and argue that while they caused the wreck, your injuries became worse because you were not restrained. This does not mean the defense wins automatically, but it does mean they access to a very strong argument they can raise.

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Crash-Causing Fault vs. Injury-Causing Fault

A defendant may have caused the accident itself. For example:

  • A truck driver changes lanes without looking.
  • A speeding driver runs a stop sign.
  • A commercial van rear-ends a stopped car.

In those situations, the defendant may still be clearly at fault for the collision. But the defense may also try to argue that your failure to wear a seatbelt made your injuries worse than they otherwise would have been. Texas courts have recognized the distinction between conduct that causes the occurrence and conduct that contributes to the injuries.

That is why seatbelt cases often become battles between experts. The defense may hire an accident reconstructionist, biomechanical expert, or medical expert to say that a seatbelt would have prevented an ejection, reduced head trauma, or lessened internal injuries. A plaintiff’s attorney may respond by challenging that analysis, arguing that the crash forces were too severe, the defense theory is speculative, or the injuries would have occurred even with proper restraint. For more information on the types of evidence used in personal injury cases, read our article here.

The Defense Still Has to Prove More Than “No Seatbelt”

A defendant should not win this argument just by pointing at a police report and saying, “The plaintiff was unbelted.”

They still need evidence tying the lack of seatbelt use to the injuries claimed. The Texas Supreme Court’s reasoning in Romero was not that nonuse always reduces recovery. It was that relevant seatbelt evidence may be considered when it actually bears on whether the plaintiff’s conduct caused or contributed to the injuries. That is an important limit.

In some crashes, seatbelt evidence may matter a great deal. In others, the defense argument may be weak. The deciding factor here is the strength of the plaintiff’s lawyer.

What About Riding in the Bed of a Truck?

Another common sight in Texas, especially outside of the city limits, are passengers riding in the bed of pickup trucks. This is not illegal, so long as the passenger is 18. The same goes for anyone riding in a boat being towed by another driver. However, some cities do have ordinances banning those practices.

These practices have similar concerns with liability as seatbelts. Because the passenger is not secured, any serious injuries may be considered the fault of the passenger, in part or in whole.

Hire a Car Crash Attorney in Houston, Texas

If you were not wearing a seatbelt, you may still be able to bring a personal injury claim in Texas. Not wearing a seatbelt does not automatically bar recovery. The safest option on the road (and for any future case) is to wear a seatbelt. However, if you are injured while on the road, know that the difference between receiving some or all of compensation and none at all is a strong, experienced lawyer.

Hilda Sibrian has served the Houston community for over 22 years. The Law Offices of Hilda Sibrian serve the Houston metropolitan area, including, Sugar Land, Missouri City, La Porte, Beaumont, Pasadena, The Woodlands, The Heights, Bellaire, Kingwood, Baytown and of course Houston proper.

Call our office today or fill out our online contact form for a free consultation.