Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is required in cases where liability is challenged. The defendant has the right to respond to the Complaint.

New York follows pure comparative fault rules, which means that in the event that a jury finds you to be the cause of a crash the damages awarded to you will be reduced by the percentage of negligence. This rule is not applicable to the owners of vehicles that are rented out or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant owed an obligation of care to them. This duty is owed by everyone, but people who operate vehicles owe an even higher duty to other drivers in their field. This includes ensuring that there are no accidents in motor vehicle accident lawyer vehicles.

Courtrooms examine an individual's conduct to what a typical individual would do under similar conditions to determine reasonable standards of care. This is why expert witnesses are frequently required in cases involving medical malpractice. Experts who are knowledgeable in a particular field can also be held to an higher standard of care than others in similar situations.

When a person breaches their duty of care, it can cause injury to the victim or their property. The victim has to show that the defendant's infringement of their duty caused the damage and injury they suffered. Causation is a crucial element of any negligence claim. It involves proving the primary and secondary causes of the injury and damages.

For motor vehicle accident attorneys instance, if a driver has a red light and is stopped, they'll be struck by a vehicle. If their vehicle is damaged, they will be responsible for repairs. The real cause of a crash could be caused by a brick cut that causes an infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by a defendant is the second element of negligence that needs to be proven to win compensation in a personal injury claim. A breach of duty happens when the actions of the party at fault fall short of what reasonable people would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for instance, has a number of professional obligations to his patients that are derived from the law of the state and licensing authorities. Motorists owe a duty care to other drivers and pedestrians on the road to drive safely and obey traffic laws. Any driver who fails to adhere to this obligation and causes an accident is responsible for the injuries of the victim.

A lawyer can rely on the "reasonable person" standard to establish the existence of an obligation of care. The lawyer must then prove that the defendant did not meet that standard in his actions. The jury will decide if the defendant complied with or did not meet the standards.

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach of duty by the defendant was the direct cause of the plaintiff's injuries. It can be more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. For instance an individual defendant could have crossed a red line, but it's likely that his or her actions was not the sole cause of the crash. The issue of causation is often challenged in crash cases by defendants.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff has to establish a causal link between the defendant's breach of duty and their injuries. If the plaintiff sustained a neck injury in an accident with rear-end damage, his or her attorney will argue that the crash caused the injury. Other factors that contributed to the collision, such as being in a stationary vehicle is not culpable and will not influence the jury's determination of the cause of the accident.

For psychological injuries However, the connection between negligence and the injured plaintiff's symptoms may be more difficult to establish. It may be the case that the plaintiff has a rocky past, has a difficult relationship with their parents, or has abused alcohol or drugs.

If you've been involved in a serious motor vehicle accident It is imperative to consult with an experienced attorney. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have years of experience representing clients in motor vehicle accident Attorneys vehicle accident commercial and business litigation, as well as personal injury cases. Our lawyers have built working relationships with independent physicians in various areas of expertise as well as expert witnesses in computer simulations and reconstruction of accidents.

Damages

The damages plaintiffs can claim in a motor vehicle case include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages covers all financial costs that can be easily added together and calculated into a total, for example, medical treatment or lost wages, repair to property, and even the possibility of future financial loss, for instance the loss of earning capacity.

New York law recognizes that non-economic damages like suffering and pain, as well as loss of enjoyment of life are not able to be reduced to money. However the damages must be proved to exist with the help of extensive evidence, including deposition testimony from the plaintiff's family members and close friends medical records, other expert witness testimony.

In cases that involve multiple defendants, Courts will often use the rules of comparative negligence to determine how much of the total damages awarded should be divided between them. The jury has to determine the proportion of fault each defendant is accountable for the incident and then divide the total damages awarded by the same percentage. New York law however, does not allow this. 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule with respect to injuries sustained by drivers of the vehicles. The resulting analysis of whether the presumption of permissiveness applies is complex and typically only a convincing evidence that the owner explicitly refused permission to operate the vehicle will overcome it.