The driver and passengers weren’t wearing seatbelts.
Unsurprisingly, the injured plaintiffs lost the case when the jury found that the plaintiff’s negligence for not wearing seat belts overcame the negligence of the truck driver in causing the accident.
On appeal, the other Court of Appeals overturned the trial court’s ruling and held that the Plaintiff’s non-use of a seatbelt shouldn’t have been admitted into the trial.
Given the history of the law in this area, Personal Injury Attorney Tampa FL, both on the plaintiff’s side and the defense; eagerly await the Court’s decision.
Before the passage of that statute, the common law in Tampa was that the non-use of a seatbelt isn’t admissible in a trial civil for personal injuries resulting from an automobile Accident Attorney Tampa FL.
The rationale behind the common law was that the non-use of a seatbelt isn’t relevant to the main cause of the accident.