Last updated 29 July 2025 If you have been hurt in a road accident without a seatbelt, you may find yourself asking, ‘Can I still claim personal injury compensation?’. We are here to tell you that it is possible to make a personal injury claim under these circumstances. Keep reading to find out the information you need to move forward.
Key takeaways
- Although UK law requires you to wear a seatbelt in most circumstances, you may still have grounds to claim compensation
- Contributory negligence is the term used to describe any decisions you have made that could have contributed to the severity of your injuries
- If successful, your compensation will cover the pain and suffering caused by your injuries. You may also be able to recover the financial costs associated with those injuries
- You can get free, no-obligation guidance from our team of advisors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Our solicitors work on the basis of No Win No Fee contracts. That means they do not charge upfront or ongoing solicitor fees for their work
Speak with a Legal Expert advisor today to find out if you can claim for a car accident without a seat belt. They will determine whether you meet the necessary criteria and answer any questions you may have about personal injury compensation. You can speak to them at any time using the details below:
- Phone on 0800 073 8804.
- Visit our contact page
- Use the live chat window
Select A Section
- A Guide To Claiming For Car Accident Injuries With No Seat Belt
- What Are Car Accident Injuries With No Seat Belt?
- UK Seatbelt Laws And Your Responsibility
- Can I Claim If I Wasn’t Wearing A Seatbelt?
- What Is Contributory Negligence In Personal Injury Claims?
- How Is Liability Established And Apportioned In A Road Accident Without A Seatbelt?
- How Is Compensation Calculated In A Road Accident Without A Seatbelt?
- Am I Eligible To Make A Compensation Claim
- What Could My Road Accident Without A Seatbelt Claim Include?
- Calculating Compensation In A Not Wearing A Seatbelt Accident Claim
- No Win No Fee Compensation Claims
- Why Make Your Claim With Us?
- How To Contact Our Team
- Useful Links
A Guide To Claiming For Car Accident Injuries With No Seat Belt
If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, then you may be able to claim compensation for that injury. Many people are mistaken in thinking that if any of the blame for that injury lies with themselves, such as road accident without a seatbelt injuries for example, they will not be entitled to any compensation at all. However, even if your own actions contributed towards the severity of the injury, you may still be entitled to file a claim.
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When you claim compensation for a road accident without a seatbelt, you must be able to prove that the injuries you sustained would have occurred even if you were wearing a seatbelt. The defence may argue contributory negligence, saying that your actions were to blame for your whiplash injury or other injury sustained. But this should not put you off contacting a personal injury solicitor and making a claim for seat belt injury compensation.
This guide will give you all the information you need to know about road accident without a seat belt claims and what processes you will need to go through. It will explain what is contributory negligence and also outline what costs you can include in your claim as well as tell you what are the legal consequences of not wearing a seatbelt.
If you have any further questions once you have read this guide then call Legal Expert and our team can help you with any further enquiries and get you connected to a specialised personal injury lawyer.
What Are Car Accident Injuries With No Seat Belt?
Being in a car accident as either a driver or passenger is a traumatic event. You can suffer a range of injuries with one of the most common being whiplash. This injury occurs when the force of a collision in the car forces your head to snap forwards and then back quickly causing an injury to the neck. This can be incredibly painful and take several months or even years to overcome, depending on the severity of the injury.
More serious road collisions can result in broken bones, fractures to the face or limbs, open wounds and even paralysis or death. UK seat belt law requires any driver or passenger in a vehicle to be wearing a seat belt at all times as statistics show that a front seat passenger reduces their chance of dying in a road accident by 45% when wearing a seatbelt. Seat belts are also 50% more likely to reduce the chance of a passenger sustaining serious or critical injuries.
However, if you were injured in a road accident without a seatbelt then you are still legally entitled to claim compensation for your injury if the accident was not your fault or was the fault of someone else’s negligence.
UK Seatbelt Laws And Your Responsibility
In the UK, the law states that you must wear a seatbelt if one is fitted in any motor vehicle with only a handful of exceptions. These exceptions include if you are the driver and you are reversing, if you are a delivery driver driving a distance of less than 50 meters, if you are a taxi driver picking up a fare and if you have a medical exemption certificate from a doctor.
In all other cases, you must wear a seatbelt, and you may be fined if you are found not to be wearing one. As a driver, it is also your responsibility to ensure any children in your vehicle are wearing a seatbelt and also to ensure that a child under 12, or under 135cm tall, is seated in an appropriate child seat.
Although UK seat belt law states it is a legal requirement to wear a seat belt when driving or as a passenger in a moving motor vehicle, you are still entitled to make a personal injury claim if you have been injured in a road accident without a seatbelt if the accident was not your fault.
Can I Claim If I Wasn’t Wearing A Seat Belt?
After suffering a road accident without a seatbelt and sustaining an injury, many people wonder, “Can I claim if I wasn’t wearing a seat belt?” as they tend to feel partially to blame for their own injury. If the accident was not their fault, then the simple answer is yes, you can still claim for a personal injury whilst not wearing a seatbelt, although the following case will not be simple and straightforward.
While you are legally entitled to make a personal injury claim following a road accident without a seatbelt, the defence will argue that you caused your own injuries due to not following UK seat belt laws and ensuring that you were buckled up. This is a defence called contributory negligence and you will need to show that you would have sustained the injuries regardless of whether or not you had been wearing a seatbelt.
Once you can show that liability for the accident lies with another person, and that you would have still sustained your injuries had you been wearing your seatbelt, then you should still receive some level of compensation for your whiplash injury or other injury sustained in the accident.
What Is Contributory Negligence In Personal Injury Claims?
Contributory negligence is the defence most commonly offered by the defendant in personal injury claims resulting from a road accident without a seatbelt. This defence alleges that the claimant is partially, if not fully, responsible for their injuries in this case for not wearing a seatbelt. The defendant may allege that by not wearing your seat belt, you have caused your injuries, such as whiplash, fractures or spinal damage, to be more severe than they would have been had you been wearing your seatbelt.
The law regarding contributory negligence as a result of not wearing a seat belt was developed in the Froom v Butcher case in 1976. While the judge ruled that the defendant did indeed cause the accident and therefore was responsible for the defendant’s injuries, he noted that had the defendant been wearing his seat belt, his injuries would not have been as severe. In this case, the judge awarded compensation in favour of the defendant but reduced the amount he would receive by 25% as a result.
In your own contributory negligence personal injury claim, the defence attorney may argue that your injuries would have been less severe if you had been wearing your seat belt and your own personal injury lawyer will argue that you would have been injured nonetheless. It will come down to the judge’s decision about how much not wearing a seatbelt influenced the severity of your injury as to how much deductions he may place on any compensation you are awarded.
How Is Liability Established And Apportioned In A Road Accident Without A Seatbelt?
If you have had a road accident without a seatbelt, then there may be liability on both sides when it comes to the extent to which you have been injured. However, under common law in the UK, all drivers have a duty of care to drive carefully when on the road. If a driver has caused an accident and breached that duty, then the liability for the accident lies solely with the driver.
The negligence of the driver means that they are liable for any injuries suffered by other parties who were involved in the accident. If you can prove negligence on behalf of another driver, then you will be entitled to claim compensation, whether or not you were wearing a seatbelt at the time.
How Is Compensation Calculated In A Road Accident Without A Seat Belt?
In personal injury claims following a road accident without a seatbelt, compensation is usually still awarded to the claimant if they can prove that the defendant’s negligence caused the accident to occur in the first place. However, the amount of compensation the defendant may receive can be reduced if the defence is successful in proving contributory negligence; if they can prove that by not wearing your seat belt, you contributed to the severity of your injuries.
The amount that your claim may be reduced by depends on how much your decision not to wear a seat belt impacted your injury;
- If a judge finds that you would not have suffered any injury, or only minor injuries, had you been wearing your seatbelt, then the seat belt injury compensation will be reduced by 25%
- If it is found that your injuries would still have occurred but have been less severe, then your compensation amount will be reduced by 15%
- If your personal injury solicitor can successfully prove that you would have suffered the same injuries regardless of whether you had been wearing a seat belt, then your compensation amount will not be reduced at all
These are the levels of compensation reduction in cases of a road accident without a seatbelt that were set out in the Froom v Butcher case of 1976.
Am I Eligible To Make A Compensation Claim?
If you have been injured as a result of a road traffic accident that was due to the fault of someone else, then you are eligible to make a compensation claim as long as you are still within the personal injury claims time limit. You have three years from the date of the accident, or the date your injury was diagnosed, which may be later in cases such as whiplash which is not always obvious straight away.
If you were a child when the accident occurred, or are claiming on behalf of a child, then the three-year personal injury claims time limit does not begin until the child turns 18.
If you believe you have a claim for compensation following a road accident without a seatbelt then call the team at Legal Expert today to discuss your case.
What Could My Road Accident Without A Seatbelt Claim Include?
Just like any other personal injury claim, your road accident without a seatbelt claim can include a range of costs which you have incurred as a result of being injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault. Your claim may consist of 2 types of damages:
- General damages- Your pain and suffering, which has been caused as a direct result of your injury
- Special damages- The financial loss caused by your injury, such as damage to property and loss of earnings resulting from time off work. If your injury means you will miss out on future job opportunities, then you may be able to include loss of potential earnings. You may also be able to claim for other expenses, such as private medical treatments, counselling, and the cost of care
The amount of compensation you receive is evaluated on an individual basis, but you can include costs such as these as part of your claim in order to make your life post-injury more comfortable.
Calculating Compensation In A Not Wearing A Seat Belt Accident Claim
All personal injury claims are assessed on an individual basis, and any compensation awarded is done so depending on a range of factors. Some factors considered include the severity of the injury and the impact it has had on an individual’s life.
The following table includes a variety of compensation brackets sourced from the Judicial College Guidelines. Solicitors may refer to the document to assess the general damages mentioned in the previous section due to the JCG publishing those suggestive brackets for many kinds of injuries.
Please note that the table isn’t a guarantee of compensation, while the top row isn’t from the document.
| Type of injury | Compensation guidelines |
|---|---|
| Multiple injuries with the associated financial costs | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Tetraplegia (Quadriplegia) | £396,140 to £493,000 |
| Paraplegia | Between £267,340 to £346,890 |
| Severe (i) back injury | Between £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Severe (iii) neck injury | £47,320 to £85,100 |
| Moderate (ii) back injury | £15,260 to £33,880 |
| Severe (iii) neck injury | Between £55,500 to £68,330 |
| Moderate (i) neck injury | £30,500 to £46,970 |
| Moderate (ii) neck injury | Between £16,770 to £30,500 |
If you have suffered an injury as a result of a road accident without a seatbelt and you want to find out about compensation, then call Legal Expert today. You may be connected with a specialised personal injury lawyer who will be able to go through the details of your claim.
No Win No Fee Compensation Claims
Many people are put off pursuing compensation as they are concerned about potentially large solicitor fees. This is especially the case with not wearing a seatbelt accident claims, as the victim often believes that they may not win their case due to contributory negligence.
No Win No Fee claims address the worry some may have about spiralling solicitor fees. Our legal representatives offer a type of No Win No Fee arrangement called a Conditional Fee Agreement. In short, it means you pay zero solicitor fees:
- Upfront
- During the claim itself
- If the case is lost
If your solicitor wins your case, then they will deduct a success fee from your compensation. It acts as a payment for their work and is small, thanks to a cap on the maximum percentage of compensation that can be deducted. What’s more, it will be agreed before you start the claim, so there are no hidden surprises.
Why Make Your Claim With Us?
Making your road accident without a seatbelt claim with Legal Expert couldn’t be easier. Our helplines are open 7 days a week and our dedicated team are on hand to connect you with a trained personal injury lawyer who will be able to talk you through your claim and guide you through the compensation process.
We offer a free consultation so that you can receive quality legal advice about your personal injury claim before you decide whether or not to go ahead. If you do decide to go ahead with your claim with us, Legal Expert will arrange for a thorough medical examination to be carried out to assess the extent of your injuries.
Let us take the stress of making a personal injury claim off your shoulders so that you can focus on recovering from your road accident without a seatbelt, and let our team fight for the compensation you deserve.
How To Contact Our Team
You can contact our advisors at any time by:
- Phoning 0800 073 8804.
- Visiting our contact page
- Opening the live chat window on screen
Useful links
Below, you can see some useful links:
- Our guide to car accident claims.
- See our article on how to pursue whiplash compensation.
- Government overview of how the law applies to the use of seatbelts in the UK
Thank you for reading our guide on how to claim for a road accident without a seatbelt.
