New Mexico Seatbelt Injuries

There’s no doubt about it: seat belts save lives. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 15,000 people survive car accidents every year because of their seat belts. While roughly 90 percent of people who ride in cars buckle up, another 2,500 lives could likely be saved annually if everyone wore their seat belt while riding in a car.

In fact, half of all car accident fatalities involve people who aren’t wearing their seat belts.

While seat belts are an undeniably important safety device, they still carry risks. Seat belts, even used properly, have the potential to inflict serious and debilitating injuries in New Mexico car accidents.

How Can Seatbelts Cause Injuries?

Seat belts work by forcibly holding a vehicle occupant in place during a collision. When your car is involved in a crash, its velocity changes rapidly. Even though the vehicle stops moving, momentum continues to carry your body forward.

As you move forward, you exert pressure on the seat belt. This triggers the seat belt to lock in place and exert pressure back on you. As a result, you’re kept from crashing into the steering wheel, dashboard, or other parts of the vehicle.

However, the force required to hold your body in place can cause serious damage to your torso and lap.

Common seat belt injuries include:

• Chest injuries
• Broken ribs
• Cuts and lacerations
• Contusions and bruising
• Organ damage
• Shoulder injuries
• Abdominal injuries

Since the seat belt lies across the torso and lap, injuries are most likely to be concentrated in these areas. When a seat belt is worn improperly and is allowed to lay across a passenger’s neck and/or lower abdomen, it’s possible to suffer spinal cord injuries, neck injuries, and trauma to the stomach and intestines.

Who’s Liable For My Seat Belt Injuries After a Car Accident in New Mexico?

If your seat belt inflicted injuries in a car accident, whoever caused the collision will be liable. After all, you would not have suffered your seat belt injuries if there hadn’t been a wreck.

So, if another driver was distracted, drunk, speeding, or otherwise negligent, they’ll be responsible for your medical bills, lost wages, disability, pain and suffering, and other crash-related damages.

New Mexico has fault-based insurance lawsuits, so you’ll have the opportunity to file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company. If the costs of your seat belt injuries are greater than the available insurance benefits, you can then seek additional damages through a car accident lawsuit.

Seat belt injuries can be costly. Make the most of your fight for compensation by trusting an experienced car accident attorney in Albuquerque to handle your personal injury case.

At Singleton Schreiber, we’re local lawyers with national resources who’ve helped crash victims and families win billions in monetary awards. Now, we’re here to help you fight for the life-changing compensation you deserve, too.

Call one of our New Mexico law offices in Albuquerque, Clovis, Hobbs, Las Vegas, Los Lunas, Mora, or Ruidoso to set a time to discuss your seat belt injury case today.