Helped Clients Recover Over $25 Billion. Since 1979.
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Seatbelts save lives, but what if you were not wearing one when a crash happened? In California, failing to buckle up doesn’t automatically prevent you from recovering damages. Instead, it introduces a defense strategy called the seatbelt defense and applies the state’s comparative negligence rule.
If you were in a San Diego car accident without a seatbelt, here is how California law handles it.
Statute: California Vehicle Code § 27315(d)–(f) requires seatbelts in most passenger vehicles, trucks, and farm labor vehicles.
Exception: Motorcycles are excluded.
Civil impact: A violation of this statute is not negligence per se. Under Vehicle Code § 27315(j), not wearing a seatbelt doesn’t automatically make you negligent.
Practical effect: Negligence may still be proven as a fact — meaning a defendant can argue you worsened your injuries by failing to buckle up.
To use the seatbelt defense, the defendant must prove all of the following:
Ordinary care: That a reasonable person would have used the seatbelt available.
Causation: That your injuries were worse because you weren’t restrained.
Expert testimony: Courts often require experts to separate injuries caused by the crash itself from those caused by not wearing a seatbelt.
California applies pure comparative negligence (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal. 3d 804). This means:
You can still recover damages, even if partially at fault.
Your award is reduced based on your percentage of fault.
Example: If a jury finds you 20% responsible for not wearing a seatbelt, and your damages total $200,000, your recovery would be $160,000.
Franklin v. Gibson (1982) 138 Cal. App. 3d 340: Failure to use available seatbelts may reduce damages under comparative negligence.
McNeil v. Yellow Cab (1978) 85 Cal. App. 3d 116: Expert testimony may not be required if causation is obvious (e.g., being thrown from the back seat to the front).
Consider a San Diego car accident on I-805. A distracted driver rear-ends another vehicle at high speed. The injured passenger was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
Under California’s comparative negligence law, the at-fault driver is still responsible for causing the collision. However, the defense may argue that the victim’s injuries — such as a traumatic head injury — were made worse because they weren’t restrained.
Medical experts could testify that the injury would have been far less severe if the passenger had been wearing a seatbelt. In this situation:
The other driver remains liable for causing the crash.
The injured passenger’s compensation may be reduced because failing to wear a seatbelt contributed to the extent of the harm.
This type of case illustrates how the seatbelt defense in California works: you can still pursue compensation after a crash, but your recovery may be lowered if the court finds your injuries were worsened by not buckling up.
Seek medical care immediately.
Preserve evidence, including police reports and witness statements.
Consult a California car accident lawyer. An attorney may challenge the seatbelt defense with expert testimony.
Do not assume you have no case. Many victims may still recover substantial damages even without wearing a seatbelt.