NU Online News Service, May 9, 3:52 p.m. EDT, Washington–Indiana's governor is being asked to veto legislation that would roll back a state court decision holding that failure to use a seat belt constitutes fault for an auto accident.
The bill, SEA 218, was passed in the final hours of the recent session of the Indiana General Assembly without input from the executive branch and at the request of the trial bar, according to officials at the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.
However, officials at Indianapolis-based NAMIC said "they had no understanding" as to whether Gov. Mitchell Daniels will veto the measure. The bill was not on a list of legislative priorities submitted by the administration when the legislation session that just ended began, a NAMIC official said.
"NAMIC strongly supports passage of a seat belt defense bill in the state of Indiana," Tam Stanton, NAMIC state affairs manager, said in a letter to Gov. Daniels (R), asking that the measure be vetoed.
NAMIC's members cannot support SEA 218 in the form endorsed by the trial lawyers, Ms. Stanton said.
She explained that the law invalidates the "positive effect" of a March 2005 Indiana Supreme Court ruling, Kocher v. Getz, which holds that non-use of a safety device such as a seat belt constitutes fault.
Language inserted into SEA 218, "allegedly, at the request of plaintiff lawyer representatives, reverses the ruling by stating that failure to wear a seat belt is not fault," Ms. Stanton said.
NAMIC is also concerned because the law says a driver not wearing a seat belt can only lose up to four percent of the damages awarded because a front-seat passenger injured in an accident didn't wear a seat belt. Ms. Shelton said the four percent cap is too small, especially when compared with caps in other states with similar laws.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.