motor vehicle accident lawsuit Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is required when liability is in dispute. The defendant has the option to respond to the complaint.

New York follows pure comparative fault rules and, if the jury finds you to be the cause of the accident, your damages award will be reduced by your percentage of negligence. There is an exception to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes the owners of vehicles that are that are rented 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. This duty is owed by all, but those who operate a vehicle have an even greater duty to other drivers in their field. This includes not causing accidents with motor vehicle accident lawyers vehicles.

Courtrooms examine an individual's conduct to what a typical individual would do in similar circumstances to determine what constitutes a reasonable standard of care. In the event of medical malpractice experts are typically required. Experts who have a greater understanding of the field could be held to a higher standard of treatment.

If a person violates their duty of care, it can cause injury to the victim or their property. The victim must prove that the defendant acted in breach of their duty and caused the harm or damages they suffered. The proof of causation is an essential part of any negligence case which involves taking into consideration both the real cause of the injury or damages as well as the proximate reason for the injury or damage.

If a person is stopped at the stop sign then they are more likely to be struck by a vehicle. If their car is damaged they'll be responsible for the repairs. However, the real cause of the accident could be a cut or bricks that later develop into a serious infection.

Breach of Duty

The second element of negligence is the breach of duty committed by a defendant. This must be proven for compensation in a personal injury case. A breach of duty occurs when the actions of the at-fault party are insufficient to what an ordinary person would do in similar circumstances.

For example, a doctor has several professional duties to his patients, arising from laws of the state and licensing boards. Drivers are required to be considerate of other drivers and pedestrians, as well as to follow traffic laws. If a motorist violates this obligation of care and causes an accident, he is responsible for the victim's injuries.

Lawyers can rely on the "reasonable person" standard to prove the existence of an obligation of care. The lawyer must then prove that the defendant failed to meet that standard in his actions. It is a question of fact for the jury to decide if the defendant complied with the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also demonstrate that the breach of duty by the defendant was the sole cause of the plaintiff's injuries. This can be more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty and breach. For example an individual defendant could have crossed a red line, but his or her action wasn't the main cause of your bicycle crash. For this reason, causation is often challenged by the defendants in case of a crash.

Causation

In motor vehicle accidents, the plaintiff must prove a causal link between breach by the defendant and their injuries. If the plaintiff sustained neck injuries in an accident that involved rear-end collisions and his or her attorney would argue that the accident was the reason for the injury. Other factors that contributed to the collision, like being in a stationary car are not culpable and will not influence the jury's decision on the cause of the accident.

For psychological injuries However, the connection between a negligent act and the affected plaintiff's symptoms can be more difficult to establish. It may be that the plaintiff has a turbulent past, a poor relationship with their parents, or has used drugs or alcohol.

If you have been in a serious motor vehicle crash it is essential to speak with an experienced attorney. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have extensive experience representing clients in Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyers vehicle accidents as well as business and commercial litigation, as well as personal injury cases. Our lawyers have established working relationships with independent doctors in many specialties, as well as experts in computer simulations and reconstruction of accident.

Damages

The damages that a plaintiff may recover in motor vehicle litigation include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages is any monetary expenses that can be easily added up and calculated as a total, for example, medical expenses and lost wages, property repair and even future financial losses such as diminished earning capacity.

New York law also recognizes the right to recover non-economic damages like the suffering of others and the loss of enjoyment, which cannot be reduced to a dollar amount. However these damages must be proved to exist by a variety of evidence, such as deposition testimony from plaintiff's family members and close friends, medical records, and other expert witness testimony.

In the event of multiple defendants, courts will often use comparative fault rules to determine the amount of total damages to be split between them. The jury must determine the percentage of blame each defendant carries for the accident and then divide the total amount of damages awarded by the percentage. However, New York law 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule in relation to injuries suffered by driver of the vehicles. The analysis to determine whether the presumption is permissive is complex. In general, only a clear demonstration that the owner denied permission for the driver to operate the vehicle can be able to overcome the presumption.