Motor Vehicle Litigation

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

New York follows pure comparative fault rules which means that if the jury finds you to be at fault for causing the accident the damages awarded to you will be reduced by your percentage of negligence. This rule does not apply to owners of vehicles which are rented out or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence suit the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant owed them a duty to act with reasonable care. This duty is owed by everyone, but those who operate a vehicle owe an even greater duty to others in their field. This includes not causing accidents in Motor Vehicle accident lawyers vehicles.

Courtrooms examine an individual's conduct with what a normal person would do under the same conditions to determine a reasonable standard of care. This is why expert witnesses are frequently required in cases involving medical malpractice. Experts with a superior understanding of a certain field may be held to a greater standard of treatment.

A person's breach of their duty of care may cause injury to a victim or their property. The victim must prove that the defendant breached their duty and caused the injury or damage they sustained. Proving causation is a critical element in any negligence case and requires investigating both the primary basis of the injury or damages, as well as the causal reason for the injury or damage.

If someone runs an stop sign it is likely that they will be hit by another vehicle. If their car is damaged they'll be responsible for repairs. However, the real cause of the crash might be a cut or bricks, which later turn into a serious infection.

Breach of Duty

The second element of negligence is the breach of duty committed by an individual defendant. This must be proved in order to obtain compensation in a personal injury case. A breach of duty happens when the actions of the party at fault do not match what an average person would do in similar circumstances.

For instance, a physician is required to perform a number of professional duties for his patients, arising from state law and licensing boards. Drivers are obliged to be considerate of other drivers and pedestrians, and to follow traffic laws. Drivers who violate this obligation and causes an accident is responsible for the injuries sustained by the victim.

Lawyers can rely on the "reasonable person" standard to prove the existence of a duty of care and then show that the defendant failed to meet that standard in his actions. It is a question of fact for the jury to decide whether the defendant fulfilled the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach of duty of the defendant was the proximate cause of his or her injuries. This is sometimes more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty or breach. For example the defendant could have been a motorist who ran a red light, however, the act was not the primary cause of your bicycle crash. For this reason, the causation issue is often contested by defendants in collision cases.

Causation

In motor vehicle accidents, the plaintiff must prove a causal link between the breach of the defendant and the injuries. If a plaintiff suffers neck injuries as a result of an accident that involved rear-end collisions and his or her attorney will argue that the crash was the cause of the injury. Other factors that are needed to cause the collision, like being in a stationary vehicle, are not culpable and do not affect the jury's determination of the liability.

It may be harder to prove a causal link between a negligent act and the plaintiff's psychological symptoms. It could be the case that the plaintiff has a turbulent background, a strained relationship with their parents, or has been a user of alcohol or drugs.

If you've been involved in a serious motor vehicle crash it is crucial to speak with a seasoned attorney. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have extensive experience in representing clients in motor vehicle accident cases, business and commercial litigation, and personal injury cases. Our lawyers have developed working relationships with independent physicians with a variety of specialties including expert witnesses in accident reconstruction and computer simulations as well as with private investigators.

Damages

The damages that plaintiffs can claim in motor vehicle accident law firms vehicle litigation can include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages covers all costs that are easily added together and calculated into an overall amount, including medical expenses or lost wages, repair to property, and even future financial losses, such as diminished earning capacity.

New York law also recognizes the right to seek non-economic damages, including suffering and pain, as well as loss of enjoyment of life, which cannot be reduced to a monetary amount. These damages must be proved with a large amount of evidence, such as depositions of family members and friends of the plaintiff medical records, as well as other expert witness testimony.

In cases involving multiple defendants, Courts will often use rules of comparative negligence to determine the percentage of damages awarded should be split between them. The jury must determine the percentage of fault each defendant is accountable for the incident and then divide the total damages awarded by the percentage. However, New York law 1602 excludes vehicle owners from the comparative negligence rule in cases where injuries are sustained by the drivers of trucks or motor vehicle accident lawyers cars. The resulting analysis of whether the presumption of permissive use applies is complex, and typically only a clear proof that the owner explicitly did not have permission to operate his vehicle will be able to overcome it.