After getting in a car accident, there are certain events from the accident itself that are essential to optimizing the personal injury claim with your lawyer. An important element from the car accident is determining if the seatbelt was used and if the airbags deployed.
The airbags and seatbelt are essential safety features in a car and have helped saved lives for decades. These two safety elements can also help a personal injury claim with your lawyer, demonstrating that the injured person used the appropriate precautions in an attempt to practice safe driving.
Airbags were first used in cars in the 1950’s. It has been mandatory to utilize airbags in vehicles since 1998 due to their importance in practicing safe driving and helping to reduce injury. Airbags have been reported to have a 42% reduction in cranium injuries, 70% reduction in facial injuries, and no substantial changes in chest injuries due to the place of impact when the airbag deploys.
Seatbelts became mandatory on January 1st 1976, and today 92.8% of all Ontarians wear seatbelts. A driver not wearing a seatbelt is 40 times more likely to be killed than someone who buckles up. Interestingly, depending on what injuries are sustained from the airbag, it is possible to tell if someone was wearing their seatbelt, which can help your lawyer in filing a personal injury claim. This is possible due to the severity of the injury caused by the airbag, because it indicates that the person in the accident entered the zone of inflation too quickly, if the injury is substantial, which would not occur with the seatbelt restraining them.
Wearing a seatbelt and having active airbags in the car can save lives as well as help in a personal injury claim with your lawyer. It demonstrates responsible driving and is an essential part of safety on the road.
Sources
http://emj.bmj.com/content/19/6/490.full
http://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2010/12/seatbelts-saving-lives-in-ontario-for-35-years.html
http://inventors.about.com/od/astartinventions/a/air_bags.htm