kirkland motor vehicle accident law firm Vehicle Litigation

If liability is contested then it is necessary to bring a lawsuit. The defendant then has the opportunity to respond to the complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that when a jury finds you to be at fault for an accident and you are found to be at fault, your damages will be reduced based on your percentage of fault. There is one exception to this rule: vimeo CPLR SS 1602 excludes the owners of vehicles that are which are rented or leased by minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence case, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed the duty of care towards them. The majority of people owe this obligation to everyone else, but those who take the car are obligated to the other drivers in their zone of activity. This includes ensuring that there are no accidents in motor vehicles.

Courtrooms examine an individual's conduct to what a typical individual would do under the same conditions to determine an acceptable standard of care. Expert witnesses are often required in cases of medical malpractice. Experts with a higher level of expertise of a specific area may also be held to a higher standard of care than other people in similar situations.

When someone breaches their duty of care, it can cause damage to the victim as well as their property. The victim is then required to show that the defendant violated their obligation and caused the damage or damages they suffered. Causation is a crucial element of any negligence claim. It involves proving the primary and secondary causes of the damages and injuries.

If a person is stopped at the stop sign then they are more likely to be hit by a car. If their vehicle is damaged, they will be responsible for the repairs. The cause of an accident could be a brick cut that causes an infection.

Breach of Duty

The second aspect of negligence is the breach of duty committed by the defendant. This must be proved in order to be awarded compensation for personal injury claims. A breach of duty occurs when the actions of the person at fault are not in line with what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.

For instance, a doctor has several professional duties to his patients that are governed by state law and licensing boards. Drivers are bound to take care of other drivers and pedestrians, as well as to follow traffic laws. If a driver violates this duty of care and causes an accident, he is responsible for the injury suffered by the victim.

A lawyer can use "reasonable people" standard to show that there is a duty of care and then show that defendant did not meet this standard in his conduct. The jury will decide if the defendant met or did not meet the standards.

The plaintiff must also prove that the defendant's negligence was the sole cause of the plaintiff's injuries. It is more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. For instance the defendant could have been a motorist who ran a red light, but his or her action wasn't the proximate cause of your bicycle crash. The issue of causation is often challenged in a crash case by defendants.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal link between breach of the defendant and the injuries. For example, if the plaintiff suffered an injury to the neck as a result of an accident that involved rear-ends and his or her lawyer would argue that the accident caused the injury. Other factors that contributed to the collision, such as being in a stationary vehicle, are not culpable, and will not influence the jury's determination of the cause of the accident.

For psychological injuries, however, the link between an act of negligence and an injured plaintiff's symptoms may be more difficult to establish. It may be because the plaintiff has a turbulent past, has a difficult relationship with their parents, or has abused alcohol or drugs.

It is essential to speak with an experienced attorney if you have been involved in a serious accident. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have years of experience representing clients in motor vehicle accidents cases, business and commercial litigation, and personal injury cases. Our lawyers have formed working relationships with independent medical professionals in a range of specialties including expert witnesses in accident reconstruction and computer simulations, as well as with private investigators.

Damages

The damages that plaintiffs can seek in kirkland motor vehicle accident lawyer vehicle litigation can include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages comprises any financial costs that can easily be added up and calculated as a total, for example, medical treatment or lost wages, property repair and even future financial losses, such as diminished earning capacity.

New York law recognizes that non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment can't be reduced to money. However these damages must be proven to exist through extensive evidence, such as deposition testimony from the plaintiff's close family members and friends medical records, deposition testimony, and other expert witness testimony.

In cases where there are multiple defendants, courts typically employ comparative fault rules to determine the amount of total damages that should be divided between them. The jury must determine how much responsibility each defendant was at fault for the incident and then divide the total damages awarded by the percentage of fault. New York law however, does not permit this. 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule in relation to injuries sustained by drivers of those cars and trucks. The process of determining whether the presumption is permissive or not is complex. Most of the time it is only a clear evidence that the owner was not able to grant permission for the driver to operate the vehicle will be sufficient to overturn the presumption.