Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is required when liability is contested. The defendant then has the chance to respond to the complaint.

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

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed the duty of care toward them. Nearly everyone owes this obligation to everyone else, however those who sit behind the wheel of a motor vehicle have a higher obligation to the other drivers in their zone of activity. This includes ensuring that they do not cause accidents in sweet home motor vehicle accident attorney vehicles.

Courtrooms compare an individual's actions to what a typical individual would do in similar circumstances to determine a reasonable standard of care. In cases of medical malpractice experts are often required. People who have superior knowledge in a particular field may also be held to an higher standard of care than other people in similar situations.

A person's breach of their duty of care may cause injury to a victim or their property. The victim must then establish that the defendant's breach of duty caused the damage and injury they suffered. Causation is a key element of any negligence claim. It requires proving both the proximate and actual causes of the injuries and damages.

For instance, if someone runs a red light and is stopped, they will be hit by a car. If their vehicle is damaged, they will be responsible for the repairs. However, the real cause of the crash might be a cut in a brick that later develops into a dangerous infection.

Breach of Duty

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

For instance, a doctor has a variety of professional obligations to his patients, which stem from state law and licensing bodies. Drivers are bound to take care of other drivers as well as pedestrians, and to adhere to traffic laws. If a driver fails to comply with this obligation of care and results in an accident, the driver is liable for the injury suffered by the victim.

A lawyer can use "reasonable people" standard to establish that there is a duty of care and then show that defendant did not comply with this standard with 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 defendant's breach was the sole cause of the plaintiff's injuries. It is 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 primary cause of the crash. In this way, causation is often challenged by defendants in crash cases.

Causation

In motor vehicle-related cases, the plaintiff must establish an causal link between defendant's breach and their injuries. If the plaintiff suffered a neck injury in a rear-end collision, his or her attorney would argue that the accident was the reason for the injury. Other factors that are necessary to cause the collision, such as being in a stationary car is not culpable and will not affect the jury's determination of fault.

It may be harder to establish a causal link between a negligent act, and the psychological symptoms of the plaintiff. The reality that the plaintiff experienced a a troubled childhood, 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, but courts typically look at these factors as part of the background circumstances that caused the accident arose rather than an independent reason for the injuries.

It is important to consult an experienced attorney if you have been involved in a serious motor accident. The attorneys at Arnold & Clifford, LLP, have extensive experience in representing clients in personal injury, commercial and business litigation, and Boonville motor vehicle Accident lawsuit vehicle accident cases. Our lawyers have established working relationships with independent physicians in different specialties as well as experts in computer simulations and reconstruction of accident.

Damages

In motor vehicle litigation, a person can be able to recover both economic and noneconomic damages. The first type of damages is any monetary costs that can easily be added up and calculated as an amount, like medical expenses loss of wages, property repairs, and even future financial losses like a diminished earning capacity.

New York law also recognizes the right to seek non-economic damages such as suffering and pain, as well as loss of enjoyment of life which cannot be reduced to a dollar amount. The proof of these damages is through extensive evidence such as depositions of family members or friends of the plaintiff or medical records, or other expert witness testimony.

In cases involving multiple defendants, Courts will often use the concept of comparative negligence to decide how much of the damages award should be allocated between them. The jury must determine how much fault each defendant had for the accident, and 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 with respect to injuries sustained by drivers of these trucks and cars. The resulting analysis of whether the presumption of permissive usage applies is complex and typically only a clear evidence that the owner specifically was not granted permission to operate the car will overcome it.