motor vehicle accident lawyer Vehicle Litigation

If the liability is challenged then it is necessary to file a lawsuit. The defendant will then be given the chance to respond to the complaint.

New York follows pure comparative fault rules, which means that should a jury find you responsible for the accident, your damages award will be reduced by your percentage of negligence. There is a slight exception to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes the owners of vehicles that are rented or leased by minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence suit the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant owed them a duty to act with reasonable care. Nearly everyone owes this obligation to everyone else, however those who are behind the driving wheel of a motorized vehicle have a higher obligation to other people in their field of operation. This includes ensuring that they do not cause car accidents.

Courtrooms evaluate an individual's behavior with what a normal person would do under similar conditions 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.

When a person breaches their duty of care, it may cause injury to the victim or motor Vehicle accident Lawyers their property. The victim has to establish that the defendant's breach of duty caused the damage and injury they suffered. Causation proof is a crucial element in any negligence case and requires investigating both the primary basis of the injury or damages, as well as the causal cause of the injury or damage.

For instance, if someone has a red light and is stopped, they'll be struck by another car. If their car is damaged, they'll be required to pay for repairs. However, the real cause of the crash might be a cut from the brick, which then develops into a dangerous infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by a defendant is the second aspect of negligence that has to be proven to win compensation in a personal injury suit. A breach of duty occurs when the at-fault party's actions fall short of what reasonable people would do in similar circumstances.

For Motor vehicle accident lawyers instance, a physician has several professional obligations to his patients, arising from laws of the state and licensing boards. Motorists owe a duty of care to other drivers and pedestrians on the road to drive safely and obey traffic laws. If a driver violates this duty of care and results in an accident, he is responsible for the injuries sustained by the victim.

A lawyer may use the "reasonable individuals" standard to show that there is a duty of care and then show that the defendant did not meet this standard in his conduct. It is a question of fact that the jury has to decide whether the defendant fulfilled the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach by the defendant was the primary cause of the plaintiff's injuries. It can be more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. A defendant may have run through a red light, but that's not what caused your bicycle accident. Because of this, causation is often challenged by the defendants in cases of crash.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal link between the defendant's breach and their injuries. If the plaintiff suffered a neck injury in a rear-end collision the attorney for the plaintiff will argue that the incident was the cause of the injury. Other factors necessary to cause the collision, like being in a stationary vehicle are not considered to be culpable and won't affect the jury's decision to determine the cause of the accident.

For psychological injuries However, the connection between negligence and the injured plaintiff's symptoms could be more difficult to establish. It could be because the plaintiff has a rocky past, has a difficult relationship with their parents, or is a user of drugs or alcohol.

If you've been involved in an accident that is serious to your vehicle it is essential to consult an experienced attorney. The attorneys at Arnold & Clifford, LLP have years of experience representing clients in personal injury cases, business and commercial litigation, as well as motor vehicle accident cases. Our lawyers have formed working relationships with independent medical professionals in a range of specialties and expert witnesses in accident reconstruction and computer simulations as well as with private investigators.

Damages

In motor Vehicle accident lawyers vehicle litigation, a plaintiff can recover both economic and noneconomic damages. The first type of damages is any monetary costs that are easily added up and calculated as a total, for example, medical expenses and lost wages, property repair and even future financial losses like diminished earning capacity.

New York law also recognizes the right to seek non-economic damages, including pain and suffering as well as loss of enjoyment of life, which cannot be reduced to a dollar amount. However, these damages must be proved to exist with the help of extensive evidence, such as deposition testimony from the plaintiff's close family members and friends medical records, as well as other expert witness testimony.

In cases where there are multiple defendants, Courts will often use comparative negligence rules to determine how much of the damages awarded should be divided between them. The jury must determine the degree of fault each defendant was at fault for the accident and to then divide the total damages awarded by the percentage of blame. However, New York law 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule when it comes to injuries sustained by the driver of the vehicles. The method of determining if the presumption is permissive is complex. In general there is only a clear proof that the owner denied permission to the driver to operate the vehicle will overcome the presumption.