Motor Vehicle Litigation

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

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that, when a jury finds you to be responsible for an accident the amount of damages you 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 negligence suit the plaintiff must show that the defendant was obligated to exercise reasonable care. Almost everybody owes this duty to everyone else, but those who are behind the car have a greater obligation to the other drivers in their zone of operation. This includes ensuring that they do not cause car accidents.

In courtrooms the standard of care is determined by comparing an individual's behavior against what a normal individual would do in the same conditions. In the case of medical malpractice experts are typically required. Experts with a higher level of expertise of a specific area may be held to an higher standard of care than other people in similar situations.

A person's breach of their duty of care can cause harm to the victim or their property. The victim is then required to demonstrate that the defendant's violation of their duty resulted in the harm and damages they suffered. Causation proof is a crucial aspect of any negligence claim and requires investigating both the primary reason for the injury or damages as well as the cause of the injury or damage.

If a driver is caught running the stop sign then they are more likely to be hit by another vehicle. If their car is damaged they'll be accountable for motor vehicle accident attorney the repairs. The reason for the accident could be a cut or bricks that later develop into a dangerous infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by the defendant is the second element of negligence that needs to be proven to win compensation in a personal injury claim. A breach of duty occurs when the actions of the person at fault are not in line with what an ordinary person would do under similar circumstances.

For instance, a doctor has a variety of professional obligations to his patients, which stem from laws of the state and licensing bodies. Drivers are obliged to be considerate of other drivers and pedestrians, and respect traffic laws. Drivers who violate this obligation and creates an accident is accountable for the injuries suffered by the victim.

A lawyer can rely on the "reasonable people" standard to demonstrate that there is a duty of caution and then demonstrate that defendant failed to meet the standard in his actions. It is a question of fact that the jury has to decide if the defendant was in compliance with the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach of duty of the defendant was the main cause of the injuries. This is sometimes more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty and breach. For instance an individual defendant could have crossed a red line, but it's likely that his or her actions was not the primary cause of the crash. Causation is often contested in cases of crash by defendants.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal link between breach of the defendant and the injuries. If the plaintiff sustained neck injuries as a result of a rear-end collision, his or her attorney would argue that the collision caused the injury. Other elements that could have caused the collision, such as being in a stationary car are not culpable and will not influence the jury's decision on the degree of fault.

It may be harder to establish a causal connection between an act of negligence and the psychological issues of the plaintiff. It may be because the plaintiff has had a difficult past, has a bad relationship with their parents, or is a user of alcohol or drugs.

If you have been in an accident involving a motor vehicle accident lawsuits vehicle that was serious it is essential to speak with a seasoned attorney. The lawyers at Arnold & Clifford, LLP have years of experience representing clients in personal injury as well as commercial and business litigation, and motor vehicle crash cases. Our lawyers have developed relationships with independent physicians in a range of specialties and expert witnesses in accident reconstruction and computer simulations, as well as with private investigators.

Damages

The damages that a plaintiff can recover in motor vehicle accident Attorney vehicle litigation can include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages covers any monetary costs that are easily added to calculate the sum of medical expenses, lost wages, property repair and even future financial losses, like diminished earning capacity.

New York law recognizes that non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of living, cannot be reduced to monetary value. However, these damages must be proven to exist using extensive evidence, including deposition testimony of the plaintiff's close friends and family members medical records, other expert witness testimony.

In cases where there are multiple defendants, courts will typically use the comparative fault rule to determine the amount of total damages that must be divided between them. This requires the jury to determine how much responsibility each defendant was responsible for the incident and then divide the total damages award by that percentage of the fault. However, New York law 1602 disqualifies vehicle owners from the rule of comparative negligence in the event of injuries suffered by drivers of cars or trucks. The analysis to determine whether the presumption is permissive is complicated. The majority of the time it is only a clear evidence that the owner did not grant permission for the driver to operate the vehicle can be sufficient to overturn the presumption.