1-800-931-7036
Now, the first thing that you need to understand is that not wearing your seat belt in Ontario is an offence as stipulated by the Highway Traffic Act. However, there is also a legal precedent which found that this is a strict liability offence and it’s not an absolute one. However, the judges have also ruled that the driver could avoid conviction in certain rare cases, if he is capable of proving that he did his best to comply with said law or that he exerted reasonable care in order to avoid the act which is prohibited by the letter of the law.
What happens if you get involved in an accident and you don’t wear the seatbelt?
This is a rather unfortunate situation. However, there are a few things that need to be taken into account here. If the driver who didn’t wear his seatbelt files a claim towards the “at fault” driver, the judge is most likely going to determine the overly common contributory negligence. This means that when fault is assigned, it’s going to be assigned to both parties according to their contribution. Therefore, when the driver who didn’t wear his seatbelt receives his compensation, it’s going to be effectively reduced by the percentage with which he had been deemed negligent for not wearing his seatbelt. However, it is important that you discuss your particular case
What to expect?
It’s impossible to determine what to expect in similar situations because the entire case is likely to be particularly individual. With this in mind, there was Snushall v. Fulsangcase in Ontario in which the Appellate Court found 35% contributory negligence when the victim did not put the seatbelt properly, as mandatory by law. Thus, it is a serious risk that you take if you do not adhere to the traffic laws. Talk with your lawyer if you have been in such an accident the repercussions can be high, if you didn’t wear a seatbelt.
As you can see, there are quite a few things that you need to take into account when it comes to instate of contributory negligence. The truth is that a lot of this is contributed by the lawyer as he is the one who is going to be convincing the judge and the members of the jury in the facts of the case. This is why you need to make sure that you find a skilled and particularly experienced personal injury lawyer if you want to get the least reduction in a situation of this particular type. This is incredibly important and it’s most definitely one of your primary concerns. You shouldn’t be worried about the payment as the majority of the personal injury lawyers in Ontario work on the so-called contingency fee basis. This means that they get paid only and when they manage to recover damages.