Motor Vehicle Litigation

When a claim for liability is litigated then it is necessary to file a lawsuit. The defendant then has the opportunity to respond to the complaint.

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

Duty of Care

In a negligence case, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed an obligation of care to them. Most people owe this duty to everyone else, however those who take the wheel of a Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyers vehicle have a higher obligation to other people in their field of activity. This includes ensuring that there are no accidents in motor vehicle accident lawsuit vehicles.

Courtrooms compare an individual's actions with what a normal person would do under the same circumstances to determine reasonable standards of care. Expert witnesses are often required in cases involving medical malpractice. Experts who are knowledgeable in a specific field could be held to an higher standard of care than other individuals in similar situations.

When someone breaches their duty of care, it may cause damage to the victim as well as their property. The victim has to prove that the defendant's breach of their duty led to the harm and damages they have suffered. The proof of causation is an essential aspect of any negligence claim and requires investigating both the primary reason for the injury or damages and the proximate reason for the damage or injury.

For instance, if a driver has a red light then it's likely that they will be hit by another car. If their car is damaged they'll be accountable for the repairs. The actual 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 suit. A breach of duty is when the actions taken by the person who is at fault are not in line with what a normal person would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for example has many professional duties towards his patients that are derived from the law of the state and licensing authorities. Drivers are obliged to take care of other drivers and pedestrians, as well as to respect traffic laws. Drivers who violate this obligation and results in an accident is responsible for the injuries suffered by the victim.

A lawyer can use "reasonable individuals" standard to demonstrate that there is a duty to be cautious and then show that the defendant did not adhere to this standard with his actions. The jury will determine if the defendant met or did not meet the standard.

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach of duty by the defendant was the primary cause for his or her 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 however, that's not the reason for the crash on your bicycle. Causation is often contested in cases of crash by defendants.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff has to establish a causal connection between the defendant's breach of duty and his or her injuries. If the plaintiff sustained a neck injury in a rear-end collision then his or her attorney would argue that the accident was the cause of the injury. Other factors that contributed to the collision, such as being in a stationary vehicle, are not culpable, and will not impact the jury’s determination of the cause of the accident.

It may be harder to establish a causal connection between a negligent act, and the plaintiff's psychological problems. It could be because the plaintiff has had a difficult past, a poor relationship with their parents, or has been a user of alcohol or drugs.

It is important to consult an experienced lawyer if you have been involved in a serious motor vehicle accident. The lawyers at Arnold & Clifford, LLP, have extensive experience in representing clients in personal injury as well as commercial and business litigation, and motor vehicle crash cases. Our lawyers have developed working relationships with independent medical professionals across a variety of specialties including expert witnesses in accident reconstruction and computer simulations, as well as with private investigators.

Damages

In motor vehicle litigation, a person can seek both economic and noneconomic damages. The first type of damages includes any monetary costs that are easily added up and calculated as a sum, such as medical expenses or lost wages, property repair and even future financial losses, like a decrease in earning capacity.

New York law also recognizes the right to seek non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, which cannot be reduced to a monetary amount. However, these damages must be proven to exist using extensive evidence, including deposition testimony from the plaintiff's close family members and friends, medical records, motor Vehicle Accident lawyers and other expert witness testimony.

In cases that involve multiple defendants, Courts will often use comparative negligence rules to determine the percentage of damages award should be allocated between them. This requires the jury to determine the amount of fault each defendant had for the accident and to then divide the total damages awarded by that percentage of blame. However, New York law 1602 exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative negligence rule in cases where injuries are caused by drivers of trucks or cars. The resulting analysis of whether the presumption that permissive use applies is complex and typically only a clear proof that the owner specifically was not granted permission to operate the vehicle will be able to overcome it.