Helicopter parents begin researching the safest vehicles on the market for years before their little darlings become old enough for driver’s ed. What they do not take into account is that the safest safety feature is not one of the most expensive; in fact, it has been a fixture of every seat in every car for decades. The humble seatbelt prevents more traffic fatalities than any other vehicle feature around. If you are in the fanciest machine on the road, but you are not wearing a seatbelt, you are still at greater risk of serious injury than someone wearing a seatbelt in a jalopy. Sure, there are other risk factors for catastrophic accidents, such as drunkenness, distractions, and excessive speed, but the lack of a seatbelt makes all of them worse. Insurance companies take into account whether the drivers and passengers were wearing seatbelts when they apportion fault for accidents and determine how much to pay on each claim. If you have been injured in a car accident where not all of the people involved were wearing seatbelts, contact a Houma car accident lawyer.
Two Drivers, Both Unrestrained, Die in Collision After One of Them Runs a Red Light
A horrific crash happened on Thanksgiving Day in Lafourche. At about 9:00 p.m., Trent Truxillo of Houma was driving a 2015 Nissan Altima on La. Highway 1, and he ran the red light at the intersection with La. Highway 3185 at a speed faster than the posted speed limit. After crossing the intersection, he struck a 2018 Cadillac XTS. Neither Truxillo nor the driver of the Cadillac, Johnnie Bennett, Jr. of Thibodaux, was wearing a seatbelt, but the passenger in the Cadillac was. Both drivers were ejected from their vehicles and were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Truxillo was 19 years old, and Bennett was 44. The passenger in the Cadillac survived but suffered injuries serious enough to require hospitalization.
The accident had the makings of a catastrophe even if the drivers had been wearing seatbelts. Running a stop sign at high speed is bad news, and toxicology tests to determine whether Truxillo was impaired at the time of the accident are still pending. One can only wonder, though, whether one or both of the drivers would have survived if they had been wearing seatbelts.
People injured in traffic accidents have the right to seek compensation for their accident-related financial losses from the parties responsible for the accident, regardless of whether they were wearing seatbelts. Because of Louisiana’s comparative fault laws, the insurance companies might assign more fault to you if you were not wearing a seatbelt, but if you were not the one who caused the accident, you might still be able to recover compensation for some of your accident-related losses.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick H. Yancey About Car Accident Cases
A car accident lawyer can help you if you were injured in a traffic accident where you were not wearing a seatbelt. Contact the Law Office of Patrick H. Yancey in Houma, Louisiana, to set up a consultation about your case.
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