Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is necessary when liability is in dispute. The defendant will then be given the chance to respond to the complaint.

New York follows pure comparative fault rules, which means that if the jury finds you to be at fault for causing the crash the damages awarded to you will be reduced by your percentage of negligence. There is an exception to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes the owners of vehicles that are rented or leased by minors.

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant had an obligation of care to them. This duty is owed by all people, however those who operate a vehicle have an even higher duty to other people in their field. This includes ensuring that they do not cause accidents in motor vehicle attorneys vehicles.

Courtrooms assess an individual's actions with what a normal person would do under the same circumstances to determine a reasonable standard of care. Expert witnesses are often required in cases of medical malpractice. Experts with a superior understanding of a certain field may be held to a higher standard of treatment.

If someone violates their duty of care, it could cause injury to the victim or their property. The victim is then required to prove that the defendant acted in breach of their duty and caused the harm or damages they sustained. Causation is a crucial element of any negligence claim. It requires proving both the proximate and actual causes of the injury and damages.

If a driver is caught running a stop sign, they are likely to be hit by a car. If their car is damaged they'll be responsible for repairs. But the actual cause of the accident could be a cut from bricks, which later turn into a potentially dangerous infection.

Breach of Duty

The second element of negligence is the breach of duty by a defendant. It must be proven for compensation in a personal injury case. A breach of duty happens when the at-fault party's actions do not match what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.

For instance, a doctor has a variety of professional obligations towards his patients. These obligations stem from the law of the state and licensing bodies. Motorists have a duty of care to other motorists and pedestrians to drive safely and observe traffic laws. A driver who breaches this obligation and causes an accident is responsible for the injuries sustained by the victim.

A lawyer can use "reasonable individuals" standard to demonstrate that there is a duty of care and then show that the defendant did not comply with the standard in his actions. It is a matter of fact that the jury has to decide if the defendant complied with the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach of duty by the defendant was the primary cause of the injuries. This is sometimes more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty and breach. A defendant may have run through a red light, but that's not what caused the accident on your bicycle. In this way, causation is often contested by defendants in crash cases.

Causation

In motor vehicle attorneys vehicle cases, the plaintiff has to establish a causal connection between the defendant's breach of duty and their injuries. If a plaintiff suffers an injury to the neck in a rear-end collision and his or her attorney will argue that the crash was the cause of the injury. Other factors necessary to cause the collision, like being in a stationary vehicle, are not culpable, and won't affect the jury's determination of the degree of fault.

For psychological injuries However, the connection between a negligent act and motor vehicle lawsuit an affected plaintiff's symptoms can be more difficult to establish. The fact that the plaintiff has a an unhappy childhood, a poor relationship with their parents, abused alcohol and drugs or prior unemployment could have a impact on the severity of the psychological issues he or suffers from following an accident, however, the courts typically consider these factors as an element of the background conditions that caused the accident resulted rather than an independent cause of the injuries.

If you've been involved in a serious motor vehicle accident It is imperative to speak with an experienced attorney. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have extensive experience representing clients in motor vehicle attorneys vehicle accident as well as business and commercial litigation, and motor vehicle lawsuit personal injury cases. Our lawyers have established working relationships with independent doctors in various specialties, as well expert witnesses in computer simulations and accident reconstruction.

Damages

The damages a plaintiff can recover in a motor vehicle lawsuit include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages encompasses all financial costs that can easily be added up and summed up into a total, such as medical treatments as well as lost wages, repairs to property, or even a future financial loss, like the loss of earning capacity.

New York law recognizes that non-economic damages like pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, cannot be reduced to monetary value. The proof of these damages is by a wide array of evidence, including depositions of family members or friends of the plaintiff, medical records, or other expert witness testimony.

In the event of multiple defendants, courts will often use comparative fault rules to determine the amount of damages to be divided between them. The jury has to determine the percentage of fault each defendant carries for the incident and then divide the total damages awarded by that percentage. New York law however, doesn't allow this. 1602 exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative negligence rule in cases where injuries are sustained by drivers of cars or trucks. The analysis to determine whether the presumption of permissiveness is complicated. In general there is only a clear proof that the owner was not able to grant permission to the driver to operate the vehicle will be sufficient to overturn the presumption.