Seatbelt Evidence Admissibility

Juries should be permitted to consider seatbelt use when determining fault and damages in personal injury cases involving automobile crashes.

The Problem

In many states, evidence of whether a plaintiff was wearing a seatbelt is inadmissible in court, even though it directly impacts the extent of injuries and damages claimed. This creates an incomplete picture for juries and unfairly penalizes defendants.

ATRA’s Position

Permit seatbelt evidence to be admitted in court to ensure fair and accurate determinations of fault and damages.

Search Through ATRA Reforms

Search through all of ATRA's reforms around Seatbelt Evidence Admissibility
Seat Belt Evidence Admissibility: S.B. 30 (2019)
In actions arising out the design, construction, manufacture, distribution, or sale of a motor vehicle factory equipped with a safety belt, failure to...
Missouri
Seat Belt Admissibility: H.B. 4 (2003)

Repealed statute forbidding any evidence of lack of seat belt use in auto accident cases.

Texas
Seat Belt Evidence Reform: S.B. 80 (2004)

Permitted evidence to be introduced of plaintiffs non-seat belt use for purposes of reducing noneconomic damages.

Ohio
Seat Belt Admissibility: H.B. 1015 (2013)
Sets out that the use or nonuse of seat belts shall be submitted into evidence in any civil suit in Oklahoma unless the plaintiff in such suit is a ch...
Oklahoma
Seat Belt Admissibility: HB 1015 (2013)
Sets out that the use or nonuse of seatbelts shall be submitted into evidence in any civil suit in Oklahoma unless the plaintiff in such suit is a chi...
Oklahoma
Seat Belt Evidence Admissibility – S.B. 439
Displaces a longstanding provision that had excluded seat belt non-usage evidence for any purpose if the claimant stipulated to a reduction of dama...
West Virginia


Seatbelt Evidence Admissibility News and Press

Explore ATRA's most recent press releases and blogs around Seatbelt Evidence Admissibility

Georgia’s Historic Tort Reform Wins National Recognition in ATRA’s 2025 “Legislative HeatCheck”

The American Tort Reform Association named the Georgia legislature a “Tort...

Gov. Kemp Signs Major Tort Reform Bills in ‘Judicial Hellhole’ Georgia

Today, the American Tort Reform Association celebrates Gov. Brian Kemp sig...

Georgia Legislature Passes Landmark Tort Reform Bill

Today, Georgia lawmakers signed off on a critical tort reform measure aime...

Search Resources

Search through all of ATRA's Amicus Briefs, Reports, and Other Resources around Seatbelt Evidence Admissibility
Search All
States
Status
Post Types
Date
Sanctionable: The unsupported, exaggerated, and suspicious claims plaguing our nation’s courts
There is growing concern that many lawsuits filed in our nation’s courts are unsupported, involve manufactured or exaggerated injuries, or stem from ...
California, Florida, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania
Lyon v. Riverside Methodist Hospital et. al.
(OH., filed October 7, 2025): Arguing that the Court should review the lower court’s decision because the Court should comprehensively address the co...
Ohio
  • Case Not Yet Decided iconCase Not Yet Decided
Atlas Turner, Inc. v. Welch
(U.S., filed September 22, 2025): Arguing the Court should review the use of receiverships by the South Carolina asbestos court.  The receivership pr...
SCOTUS
  • Case Not Yet Decided iconCase Not Yet Decided
Letter to House Judiciary Committee re: Protection of Lawful Commerce in Stone Slab Products Act
This letter was submitted on behalf of the American Tort Reform Association to express our support for H.R. 5437, the “Protection of Lawful Commerce ...
California
Letter to DOJ re: RFI on State Laws Having Significant Adverse Effects on the National Economy or Interstate Commerce
Re: Request for Information on State Laws Having Significant Adverse Effects on the National Economy or Significant Adverse Effects on Interstate Com...
Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish
(U.S., filed September 12, 2025): Arguing that the Louisiana coastal litigation proves the importance of federal officer removal.  The Government law...
SCOTUS
  • Case Not Yet Decided iconCase Not Yet Decided
Suncor Energy Inc., et. al. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, et. al.
(U.S., filed September 12, 2025): Urging the Court to grant the petition for certiari.  Arguing that global climate change is not traditional state t...
SCOTUS
  • Case Not Yet Decided iconCase Not Yet Decided
Sommerville v. Union Carbide and Covestro LLC
(4th Circ., filed September 9, 2025): Supporting rehearing en banc. Arguing that Article III standing requires an injury that is concrete and particu...
4th Circuit
  • Case Not Yet Decided iconCase Not Yet Decided
Ortiz v. Daimler Trucks North America LLC
(CA., filed September 4, 2025): Urging the court to review the lower court’s decision because in combination with the decision in Gilead, it threaten...
California
  • Case Not Yet Decided iconCase Not Yet Decided
CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Carey, II et. al.
(KY., filed August 26, 2025) : Arguing that in a wide range of cases, identification of suspicious claims activity has led to investigations that hav...
Kentucky
  • Case Not Yet Decided iconCase Not Yet Decided



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