What’s My Car Accident Settlement Worth If Not Wearing A Seatbelt?

You’re injured. You weren’t wearing your seatbelt. And now you’re terrified that one mistake cost you your entire case.

In California, you can absolutely still recover compensation for your injuries. The other driver caused the accident. That fact doesn’t disappear because you forgot to buckle up. What changes is the math. 

Your settlement gets reduced by a percentage based on how much not wearing a seatbelt contributed to your specific injuries. For most California cases, this reduction falls somewhere between 1% and 30%, depending on what injuries you sustained and whether a seatbelt would have prevented them.

Key Takeaways

• California follows “pure comparative negligence,” meaning you can recover damages even if you share some fault. Not wearing a seatbelt reduces your settlement but does not eliminate it.
• The landmark case Housley v. Godinez established that defendants must prove through expert testimony which specific injuries would have been prevented by seatbelt use.
• Unlike states such as Missouri (1% cap) and Oregon (5% cap), California has no statutory limit on seatbelt-related reductions. Juries decide the percentage.
• Ejection injuries see the highest reductions because seatbelts directly prevent ejection. Injuries unrelated to seatbelt protection, such as broken ankles from pedal impact, may experience no reduction.

Can I Still Get Compensation If I Wasn’t Wearing a Seatbelt in California?

Yes. California uses what’s called pure comparative negligence. This means you can recover damages even if you were partly responsible for your own injuries. The court simply reduces your award by your percentage of fault.

Violating Vehicle Code 27315 (California’s seatbelt law) doesn’t mean you caused the accident. The drunk driver who ran the red light? Still 100% responsible for hitting you. Your seatbelt violation only matters when determining how much worse your injuries became because you weren’t buckled in.

The courts made this crystal clear in Housley v. Godinez back in 1992. The defendant has the burden of proving two things: first, that you should have been wearing a seatbelt; and second, through expert medical testimony, exactly which injuries you would have avoided.

That second part is crucial. Insurance companies can’t just wave their hands and claim your injuries would have been less severe. They need actual biomechanical experts to analyze the crash dynamics, your body position, and the specific mechanism of each injury.

How Much Will the Insurance Company Reduce My Settlement?

This is where things get complicated.

You’ll see claims floating around that “typical reductions are 1-5%.” The truth? That number has no authoritative source. In Housley v. Godinez, the jury assigned a 30% reduction. Some cases see less. California law sets no maximum.

What actually determines your reduction:

Injury type matters most. Ejection injuries face the steepest reductions because seatbelts directly prevent ejection. Research published in the World Journal of Emergency Medicine found that unbelted occupants have significantly higher rates of hospital admission, ICU stays, and surgical intervention.

The crash dynamics matter. A head-on collision involves different forces than a T-bone or rear-end impact. Medical experts analyze whether a seatbelt would have changed the injury outcome for your specific crash.

Some injuries have zero connection to seatbelts. Broke your ankle when the floorboard crushed your foot? A seatbelt wouldn’t have helped. Suffered chemical burns from a ruptured fuel line? Same thing. These injuries should face no reduction at all.

Let’s say your claim is worth $200,000 before any reduction. If experts determine the seatbelt would have reduced your injuries by 15%, you’d recover $170,000 instead of $200,000. Still substantial. Still life-changing money.

Which Injuries Get Reduced the Most?

Not all injuries are created equal when it comes to the seatbelt defense.

Highest reductions (ejection injuries): When an unbelted occupant gets thrown from the vehicle, the connection between seatbelt absence and injury is undeniable. NHTSA data cited by IIHS shows that lap-shoulder belts reduce fatal injury risk by 45% for car occupants and 60% for SUV occupants. Ejection-related injuries face the most significant reductions because the causation is so direct.

Moderate reductions (head and chest trauma): Studies in Traffic Injury Prevention found traumatic brain injury rates dropped from 10.4% to 4.1% when seatbelts were used. Insurance adjusters will argue for moderate reductions on TBI, facial injuries, and chest trauma cases.

Minimal or no reduction (lower extremity injuries): Your legs and feet exist below the seatbelt’s protection zone. Crush injuries, ankle fractures, and knee damage often have no causal connection to seatbelt use.

Here’s what makes this interesting from a legal strategy standpoint: peer-reviewed research published in Frontiers in Public Health notes there are “no published standards or systematic approach” for quantifying how seatbelt non-use contributed to a specific claimant’s injuries. This lack of standardization gives your attorney room to challenge inflated reduction claims.

How Do Insurance Companies Weaponize the Seatbelt Defense?

Adjusters love this defense. They’ll use it to pressure you into accepting less money before you’ve even hired a lawyer.

Their playbook is predictable:

They lead with shame. “You weren’t wearing a seatbelt, so you caused your own injuries.” This framing ignores that someone else caused the accident. They’re banking on your guilt overwhelming your judgment.

They inflate the reduction percentage. Without expert testimony, they’ll throw out numbers like “50% reduction,” hoping you don’t know that such a drastic cut requires significant proof.

They are pressuring for an early settlement. Before you’ve had time to consult experts or understand your true injury prognosis, they want you locked into a lowball offer.

What you should never do: admit to the adjuster that you weren’t wearing a seatbelt. Let your attorney handle that conversation. What you say in early conversations can and will be used against you later.

What Steps Should I Take to Protect My Settlement?

Document everything from day one. Photographs of the accident scene. Medical records. Your own notes about how you’re feeling.

Get an attorney who understands medical causation. The seatbelt defense lives or dies on expert testimony. You need someone who can retain biomechanical engineers and medical specialists to challenge inflated reduction claims.

Don’t accept the first offer. Insurance companies test your desperation. That initial number represents what they hope you’ll take out of fear and confusion, not what your case is actually worth.

And for what it’s worth, California seatbelt compliance sits around 96.2%. Despite that high rate, 780 unrestrained occupants died in traffic crashes in 2023. You’re not alone in this situation. Plenty of good people make this mistake.

The Bottom Line

Not wearing a seatbelt complicates your case. That’s real. But it doesn’t destroy it.

The person who hit you is still responsible for the accident. California law acknowledges this by allowing you to recover damages even when you share some fault. Your settlement gets reduced, yes. But reduced isn’t eliminated.

What matters now is getting the right legal team in your corner. Someone who can challenge inflated reduction claims, retain the right medical experts, and fight for every dollar you deserve.

DK Law handles seatbelt cases across California.

If you’re wondering what your specific case is worth, call for a free consultation. No fee unless we win.