Failing to wear a seat-belt in a Washington car accident on average results in over $10,000 more in medical bills.  You may also face a traffic ticket with a fine over $100.00.  If you were not at fault for causing the car accident you can expect the insurance company to blame you for causing your injuries to be worse than they should've been.  If you don't have an attorney they may even refuse to pay a large portion of your medical bills as a result.

Luckily, Washington state has the second highest seat-belt usage rate in the entire country.  Second only to Michigan.  96.5% of Washingtonians were their seat belts.  Good for you!  That's something to be proud of as a Washington resident. 

Seat-belts save lives and reduced medical costs in car accidents.  Studies in Washington have shown that medical costs from car accident injuries amount to over $276 million per year.  Wow!!  When you figure the run of the mill fender bender with some soft tissue injuries has medical bills of 10,000 or less, that's a lot of injury car accidents per year.

However, if you're faced with the situation where you were injured in a car accident caused by another person, but you weren't wearing your seat-belt, you should seek the advice of an experienced Washington car accident attorney.  It's better to know what you rights are first before talking to an insurance adjuster who may try to pin a bunch of blame on you as a way to justify paying less than you deserve.