Georgia used to bar insurers from using seatbelt non-use as evidence against injury claimants. As of April 2025, Senate Bill 68 repealed that protection — non-use is now admissible on negligence, causation, and damages. Courts can still exclude it if the risk of unfair prejudice outweighs its value, and that is exactly the fight Boyd Law Firm wins.
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A car accident on I-95 near Brunswick or US-17 through Glynn County can leave victims seriously hurt. For years, Georgia law flatly barred insurance companies from using a claimant’s seatbelt non-use against them. That changed on April 21, 2025, when Georgia enacted Senate Bill 68 as part of a broader tort-reform package. Boyd Law Firm represents seatbelt non-use accident victims throughout coastal Georgia — Glynn County, Camden County, Brantley County, Liberty County, Wayne County, and McIntosh County — and knows exactly how to fight this new evidence rule on a client’s behalf.
OCGA 40-8-76.1 is Georgia’s primary seatbelt statute. It makes seatbelt use mandatory for front-seat occupants. Until April 2025, subsection (d) barred any use of seatbelt non-use as evidence of negligence or to reduce damages in a personal injury case. Senate Bill 68 rewrote that subsection. Under the current law, evidence that a claimant was not wearing a seatbelt can now be considered on the issues of negligence, comparative negligence, causation, and apportionment of damages. The court retains discretion to exclude the evidence if its potential for unfair prejudice substantially outweighs its relevance. Georgia lawmakers made this change as part of a broader 2025 tort-reform package aimed at aligning Georgia’s civil litigation rules more closely with the majority of other states.
Georgia’s SB 68 (effective April 21, 2025) removed one of the strongest claimant protections in the Southeast. Most states already allowed seatbelt non-use as evidence of comparative fault — Georgia’s 2025 change brings the state in line with that majority approach. A claimant who was not buckled can now see that fact weighed against them if a court allows it.
Yes, in some cases — and this is exactly where an experienced advocate matters. Since April 2025, insurance companies and their attorneys can introduce seatbelt non-use as evidence at trial, not just in informal settlement negotiations. However, the statute still gives courts the power to exclude that evidence when its prejudicial impact substantially outweighs its probative value. Boyd Law Firm builds that exclusion argument into every seatbelt non-use case from day one — gathering evidence on injury causation, arguing relevance limits, and preventing insurers from turning a technical evidentiary opening into unfair jury bias. Adjusters who previously had no leverage on this point now raise it aggressively in negotiations; the firm’s job is to blunt that leverage before a demand letter is even sent.
Georgia’s comparative fault statute, OCGA 51-12-33, allows a jury to apportion fault among multiple parties and reduce a plaintiff’s recovery proportionally if the plaintiff was partially at fault for the crash itself. A plaintiff who was more than 50% at fault for the collision is barred from recovery entirely under Georgia’s modified comparative negligence rule. This framework applies to conduct that contributed to the accident — following too closely, running a red light, distracted driving. Before April 2025, seatbelt non-use was legally invisible to that calculation. After SB 68, a court may now permit a jury to consider seatbelt non-use alongside those other fault factors when apportioning percentages, subject to the court’s gatekeeping role on prejudice. This makes early, skilled legal representation more important than ever under Georgia law: without a lawyer pushing back on relevance and prejudice, seatbelt non-use can now inflate a claimant’s assigned fault percentage well beyond what the facts of the collision itself would support.
The steps after a coastal Georgia car accident are the same whether or not a seatbelt was worn. First, seek medical attention immediately — both for health and to establish a documented injury record. Second, do not speak with the at-fault driver’s insurer before consulting an attorney. Third, contact Boyd Law Firm at (912) 265-5069 for a free case evaluation. The firm serves crash victims along I-95 and US-17 between Brunswick and St. Marys, through Kingsland and Camden County, and throughout the region including Darien, Jesup, Hinesville, and communities near Fort Stewart and Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.
Since SB 68 took effect, insurers no longer need informal pressure tactics — seatbelt non-use is now a legitimate evidentiary tool they can raise directly, in writing, and at trial. Adjusters are already citing the new law to justify lower settlement offers, sometimes overstating how much weight a court will actually give the evidence. A claimant represented by Boyd Law Firm is protected because the firm evaluates, case by case, whether seatbelt evidence should be excluded as unfairly prejudicial, challenges any adjuster who treats the new rule as an automatic damages discount, and holds insurers to the relevance limits Georgia courts still enforce. Insurers who push lowball offers based on the new seatbelt rule in Georgia cases face the prospect of litigating against a trial firm that secured an $8,204,000 jury verdict in Glynn County Superior Court on May 15, 2024.
Roy J. Boyd Jr. and Boyd Law Firm, LLC approach every seatbelt non-use case with the same framework: establish that the at-fault driver caused the crash, document the full scope of the client’s injuries, and fight to keep seatbelt evidence out of the case wherever Georgia’s post-2025 relevance and prejudice rules allow it. The firm is a member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and brings trial experience to every case — which matters more than ever now that insurers have a new evidentiary tool to work with. The firm’s contingency fee structure means there are no upfront costs for the client. Injured people in Brunswick, St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island, and surrounding Glynn County communities are encouraged to call even if they are uncertain about how the 2025 law change affects their case. Boyd Law Firm knows this rule change well and fights to limit its impact on every client’s recovery.
Jury Verdict
The largest car wreck verdict in Glynn County history — secured May 15, 2024, in Glynn County Superior Court. Roy J. Boyd Jr. and Boyd Law Firm took the case to trial and won. Insurance companies throughout coastal Georgia know that Boyd Law Firm does not settle for less than a case is worth.
For accident victims — including those not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash — this verdict shows what aggressive trial advocacy can deliver against a well-funded insurer. The at-fault party was held fully accountable for the full value of the case.
Jury verdict secured May 15, 2024 — Glynn County Superior Court — Boyd Law Firm, LLC.
Georgia’s seatbelt rule changed in April 2025 and now looks much more like the rest of the country. The table below shows how Georgia’s current approach compares to other states’ frameworks.
| State / Rule | Seatbelt Non-Use Admissible? | Effect on Damages | How It Compares to Georgia Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia (OCGA 40-8-76.1(d), post-SB 68) | Yes — admissible, subject to court discretion | Can reduce damages if the court allows the evidence | No longer a blanket bar — exclusion argued case by case |
| Alabama (contributory negligence) | Yes — admissible | Can bar recovery entirely if plaintiff at fault | Georgia is less harsh — Alabama can eliminate recovery entirely |
| Florida (comparative fault + seatbelt statute) | Yes — admissible for damages | Damages capped at 5% reduction for non-use | Florida caps the reduction; Georgia currently does not |
| South Carolina | Yes — admissible | Can reduce damages proportionally | Closest match to Georgia’s current rule |
Trial Attorney — Boyd Law Firm, LLC — Brunswick, Georgia
Roy J. Boyd Jr. is a trial attorney and member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. Boyd Law Firm, LLC has represented injured Georgians throughout Glynn, Camden, Brantley, Liberty, Wayne, and McIntosh counties. The firm’s practice focuses on serious personal injury cases — car accidents, truck accidents, and wrongful death — where insurance companies must be challenged in court to deliver fair results.
On May 15, 2024, Roy J. Boyd Jr. secured an $8,204,000 jury verdict in Glynn County Superior Court — the largest car wreck verdict in the county’s history. That result demonstrates the firm’s willingness to take difficult cases to trial and hold at-fault parties fully accountable regardless of insurance company tactics.
Boyd Law Firm is located at 1601 Reynolds St., Brunswick, GA 31520. Call (912) 265-5069 or email Roy@RoyBoydLaw.com.
No, but as of April 2025 it can affect the value of your claim. Georgia’s Senate Bill 68 removed the old rule that barred seatbelt non-use from being used as evidence. Under the current version of OCGA 40-8-76.1(d), a court can now allow evidence of seatbelt non-use on the issues of negligence, comparative fault, causation, and damages, though not automatically — the court must find that its value outweighs the risk of unfair prejudice. The at-fault driver who caused the crash is still responsible for the collision; the open question is how much the seatbelt issue affects the damages a jury awards.
Yes, and since April 2025 they have a much stronger legal basis to do so. Adjusters now cite Georgia’s amended seatbelt statute directly, sometimes overstating how automatically a court will admit the evidence. When Boyd Law Firm represents a claimant, the firm evaluates whether the seatbelt evidence would actually survive a prejudice challenge in court and pushes back on adjusters who treat the new rule as an automatic discount on the claim’s value.
It can now, in a way it could not before April 2025. OCGA 51-12-33 governs how a jury apportions fault for the collision itself. Before SB 68, seatbelt non-use was excluded from that calculation entirely. After SB 68, a court may permit a jury to weigh seatbelt non-use alongside how the collision happened, which can increase a claimant’s assigned fault percentage. A claimant found more than 50% at fault is barred from recovery entirely under Georgia’s modified comparative negligence rule, which makes limiting the seatbelt evidence’s role in that calculation critical.
This argument is now permitted under Georgia’s amended seatbelt statute, where before April 2025 it was not. OCGA 40-8-76.1(d), as rewritten by SB 68, allows seatbelt non-use to be considered on causation and damages, which includes arguments about injury severity. The court still has discretion to limit or exclude the argument if it is more prejudicial than probative. Boyd Law Firm challenges these arguments case by case rather than conceding that the new law gives insurers unlimited room to use them.
Yes. Senate Bill 68’s amendment to OCGA 40-8-76.1(d) is statewide Georgia law, effective in every Georgia county court, including Glynn County Superior Court, Camden County Superior Court, and all other trial courts throughout the region. Boyd Law Firm handles seatbelt non-use accident cases in Brunswick, Kingsland, St. Marys, Jesup, Hinesville, Darien, and surrounding communities under the current version of the law.
Yes. Georgia’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims is generally two years from the date of the accident under OCGA 9-3-33. Missing this deadline eliminates the right to pursue compensation regardless of how the seatbelt evidence issue would have played out. Contacting Boyd Law Firm promptly after a crash — especially now that Georgia’s seatbelt evidence rule has changed — preserves all legal options and gives the firm the most time to build the strongest possible case. Call (912) 265-5069 for a free case evaluation.
Since April 2025, insurers can use seatbelt non-use against your claim. Boyd Law Firm knows how to fight it. Free case review — no fee unless the firm recovers.
Boyd Law Firm, LLC — 1601 Reynolds St., Brunswick, GA 31520 — (912) 265-5069. Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. The $8,204,000 verdict was secured May 15, 2024 in Glynn County Superior Court. No attorney-client relationship is formed by viewing this page.
