Motor Vehicle Litigation

If the liability is challenged in court, it becomes necessary to file a lawsuit. The Defendant has the right 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 damages you incur will be reduced based on your percentage of blame. There is a caveat 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 show that the defendant had the duty of care toward them. The majority of people owe this obligation to everyone else, but individuals who get behind the car are obligated to the other drivers in their zone of operation. This includes not causing accidents with motor vehicles.

In courtrooms the standards of care are determined by comparing the actions of an individual to what a normal person would do in the same conditions. In the event of medical malpractice, expert witnesses are usually required. Experts who have a greater understanding of the field could be held to a higher standard of care.

A person's breach of their obligation of care can cause harm to the victim or their property. The victim then has to demonstrate that the defendant did not fulfill their duty and caused the harm or damage that they suffered. Causation is a key element of any negligence claim. It requires proving both the proximate and real causes of the injuries and damages.

If a person is stopped at an intersection, they are likely to be hit by a car. If their vehicle is damaged, they'll be accountable for the repairs. But the reason for the accident could be a cut or bricks, which later turn into a dangerous 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 lawsuit. A breach of duty happens when the at-fault party's actions fall short of what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.

For instance, a doctor has many professional obligations towards his patients, which stem from laws of the state and motor vehicle accident attorney licensing bodies. Motorists owe a duty of care to other motorists and pedestrians on the road to drive safely and obey traffic laws. When a driver breaches this obligation of care and results in an accident, the driver is accountable for the victim's injuries.

A lawyer can use the "reasonable person" standard to establish the existence of the duty of care, and then prove that the defendant did not meet the standard in his actions. The jury will decide if the defendant met or did not meet the standards.

The plaintiff must also demonstrate that the breach of duty by the defendant was the primary cause of the plaintiff's injuries. It can be more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. A defendant might have walked through a red light but that wasn't what caused the crash on your bicycle. The issue of causation is often challenged in a crash case by defendants.

Causation

In motor vehicle accident Attorney vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal connection between the defendant's breach of duty and their injuries. If the plaintiff suffered an injury to the neck in a rear-end collision then his or her attorney would argue that the accident was the reason for the injury. Other factors that are needed in causing the collision like being in a stationary car, are not culpable and will not affect the jury's decision of the liability.

It can be difficult to establish a causal link between a negligent action and the plaintiff's psychological problems. It could be because the plaintiff has had a difficult past, has a difficult relationship with their parents, or has used drugs or alcohol.

It is imperative to consult an experienced lawyer should you be involved in a serious dayton motor vehicle accident law firm accident. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have extensive experience representing clients in motor vehicle accident as well as business and commercial litigation, as well as personal injury cases. Our lawyers have developed working relationships with independent doctors across a variety of specialties as well as expert witnesses in accidents reconstruction and computer simulations, as well as with private investigators.

Damages

The damages a plaintiff can recover in motor vehicle litigation include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages is any monetary costs that are easily 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 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 dollar amount. However these damages must be established to exist through extensive evidence, including deposition testimony of the plaintiff's close friends and family members medical records, deposition testimony, and other expert witness testimony.

In the event of multiple defendants, courts will typically use the comparative fault rule to determine the amount of damages to be divided between them. The jury will determine the amount of fault each defendant is responsible for the incident and then divide the total amount of damages awarded by that percentage. However, New York law 1602 specifically excludes owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule with respect to injuries sustained by the driver of those cars and trucks. The method of determining if the presumption is permissive or not is complex. Most of the time the only way to prove that the owner was not able to grant permission to the driver to operate the vehicle can be sufficient to overturn the presumption.