A Minor Passenger Not Wearing a Seat Belt Does Not Contribute to His or Her Own Damage in a Road Traffic Accident
Bulgaria's Supreme Court of Cassation clarifies the rules on contributory negligence involving injured minors.
The General Assembly of the Civil and Commercial Chambers of the Supreme Court of Cassation has adopted an important interpretative ruling concerning the liability arising from road traffic accidents involving injured minor passengers.
In its Interpretative Decision No. 1 of 29 September 2026 in Interpretative Case No. 1/2024, the Court held that a minor who sustains injuries while travelling in a vehicle without wearing a seat belt, or while using a restraint system improperly, cannot be regarded as having contributed to the occurrence of his or her own damage merely on that basis.
No Contributory Negligence on the Part of the Minor
According to the Court, the obligation to ensure that a child passenger is properly secured by an appropriate restraint system rests primarily with the driver. Consequently, where a minor passenger is injured in a road traffic accident caused by the driver's wrongful conduct, the compensation due to the child may not be reduced because the child was travelling without a seat belt, even where the injuries would have been avoided or significantly reduced had the restraint system been used correctly.
The Court emphasised that minor passengers are not subject to the same legal responsibilities as adult passengers and therefore cannot automatically be held responsible for the failure to use a safety restraint system.
Exception: Deliberate Conduct by the Child
The Supreme Court recognised a limited exception to this principle.
Contributory negligence may be established where the child's failure to use the restraint system results from the child's own conduct after the driver has already complied with his or her legal obligation. For example, where the driver properly secures the child but the child subsequently removes or intentionally misuses the safety restraint system, the child's conduct may be taken into account when assessing liability and damages.
Responsibility of Parents and Other Supervising Persons
The Court further considered situations in which the non-use or improper use of a safety restraint system results from the conduct of a parent or another person entrusted with supervising the child.
In such cases, the compensation payable to the injured child cannot be reduced based on contributory negligence. The child remains an innocent victim, while liability may arise concurrently for both the driver responsible for the accident and the supervising person whose conduct contributed to the child's injuries.
Impact on Claims for Non-Pecuniary Damages Following a Child's Death
The ruling also addresses claims arising from fatal accidents involving minors.
Where a parent or another person entitled to claim non-pecuniary damages for the child's death has objectively contributed to the occurrence of that death, the amount of compensation recoverable by that person may be reduced to reflect his or her own contribution to the harmful result.
Under Bulgarian law, those persons may be held jointly and severally liable for the full amount of damages suffered by the child.
Key Takeaways
- A minor passenger's compensation may not be reduced solely because the child was travelling without a seat belt.
- The legal duty to ensure proper use of child restraint systems rests principally with the driver.
- An exception may apply where the child personally removes or intentionally misuses a restraint system after being properly secured.
- Fault on the part of a parent or supervising person does not reduce the child's claim for damages.
- However, such fault may affect the parent's own entitlement to compensation in fatal accident cases.
The decision provides important guidance for courts, insurers and practitioners dealing with personal injury claims involving minor passengers and is expected to have a significant impact on future litigation concerning contributory negligence in road traffic accident cases.