Motor Vehicle Litigation

If the liability is challenged in court, it becomes necessary to make a complaint. The defendant has the option to respond to the complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that if a jury finds you to be at fault for an accident the amount of damages you will be reduced based on your percentage of fault. This rule does not apply to the owners of vehicles that are rented out or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed an obligation of care to them. The majority of people owe this obligation to everyone else, however those who sit behind the steering wheel of a magnolia motor vehicle accident law firm vehicle are obligated to the other drivers in their zone of operation. This includes ensuring that they do not cause accidents in motor vehicles.

In courtrooms the standard of care is established by comparing the actions of an individual to what a normal person would do in similar conditions. Expert witnesses are frequently required in cases involving medical malpractice. Experts with a higher level of expertise in a particular field may be held to the highest standards of care than other individuals in similar situations.

A breach of a person's duty of care may cause injury to a victim or their property. The victim then has to demonstrate that the defendant did not fulfill their obligation and caused the damage or damage they sustained. Causation is a crucial element of any negligence claim. It requires proving both the primary and secondary causes of the damages and injuries.

For instance, if someone runs a red stop sign and is stopped, they'll be hit by another car. If their vehicle is damaged, they will be required to pay for repairs. The cause of a crash could be a brick cut that causes an infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by the defendant is the second aspect of negligence that has to be proved in order to secure compensation in a personal injury claim. 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 physician has a variety of professional obligations to his patients based on laws of the state and licensing boards. Motorists have a duty of care to other motorists and pedestrians to drive safely and observe traffic laws. A driver who breaches this duty and results in an accident is responsible for the injuries sustained by the victim.

A lawyer can rely on the "reasonable person" standard to prove the existence of a duty of care and then show that the defendant did not comply with the standard in his actions. The jury will decide if the defendant met or did not meet the standard.

The plaintiff must also prove that the defendant's breach of duty was the primary cause of the injuries. This is sometimes more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty or breach. A defendant could have run through a red light but that's not what caused the bicycle accident. Causation is often contested in a crash case by defendants.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal connection between the defendant's breach of duty and the injuries. If the plaintiff suffered an injury to the neck in a rear-end collision then his or her attorney will argue that the incident caused the injury. Other factors that are essential for the collision to occur, like being in a stationary vehicle are not considered to be culpable and therefore do not affect the jury's determination of liability.

It may be harder to prove a causal link between an act of negligence and the psychological symptoms of the plaintiff. The fact that the plaintiff has a an unhappy childhood, a poor relationship with his or her parents, experimented with alcohol and drugs or previous unemployment may have some influence on the severity the psychological issues is suffering from following a crash, but the courts typically view these elements as part of the background circumstances that caused the accident was triggered, not as a separate cause of the injuries.

It is imperative to consult an experienced attorney if you have been involved in a serious motor accident. The lawyers at Arnold & Clifford, LLP have years of experience representing clients in personal injury as well as commercial and business litigation and kings point motor Vehicle accident law firm vehicle accident cases. Our lawyers have formed working relationships with independent physicians in various specialties, as well expert witnesses in computer simulations and reconstruction of accident.

Damages

The damages plaintiffs can claim in motor vehicle litigation include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages covers any monetary costs that can be easily added up and calculated as a total, for example, medical treatment loss of wages, property repair, and even future financial losses, like diminished earning capacity.

New York law also recognizes the right to recover non-economic damages, including the suffering of others and the loss of enjoyment of life which cannot be reduced to a monetary amount. However, these damages must be proved to exist through 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 the event of multiple defendants, courts typically employ comparative fault rules to determine the amount of total damages that must be divided between them. The jury must determine the proportion of fault each defendant is responsible for the incident and then divide the total damages awarded by that percentage. However, New York law 1602 disqualifies vehicle owners from the comparative negligence rule in cases where injuries are suffered by drivers of cars or trucks. The subsequent analysis of whether the presumption that permissive use applies is complex and usually only a clear proof that the owner specifically was not granted permission to operate the vehicle will be able to overcome it.