Plaintiff's failure to use a safety belt may affect the outcome of a case. Plaintiff may not recover for injuries that the use of an available and operational seatbelt would have prevented. Spier v. Barker, 35 N.Y.2d 444, 363 N.Y.S.2d 916 (1974). The seatbelt defense requires that functioning seatbelts must have been available to the plaintiff. DiMauro v. Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority, 105 A.D.2d 236, 483 N.Y.S.2d 383 (Second Dept. 1984), citing Spier. VTL §383 requires seatbelts in all vehicles manufactured after June 30, 1964 and sold in New York. Whether, at the time of the accident, seatbelts were installed, working and available is a question of fact.

Seatbelt Charge The defendant claims that some or all of the plaintiff's claimed injuries were caused by (his, her) failure to use an available seatbelt and that plaintiff cannot recover for those injuries. The defendant has the burden of proving that some or all of the plaintiff's injuries were caused by (his, her) failure to use an available seatbelt. If you find that plaintiff failed to use an available seatbelt and that some or all of the plaintiff's injuries resulted from (his, her) failure to use the seatbelt, you may not make any award for those injuries you find (he, she) sustained because of such failure to use the seatbelt.... New York Pattern Jury Instructions - Civil, Volume 1A, Third Edition, Unified Court System, 1997, published by West Group. Practice Tip: In many older vehicles, only lap belts are available in the rear seats. There is a substantial body of literature and research documenting the fact that wearing just a lap belt often causes more severe injuries or death than going without. If this is the structure of your case, retain a good seatbelt expert and you will be able to overcome this defense.