Motor Vehicle Litigation

If liability is contested in court, it becomes necessary to file a lawsuit. The defendant will then be given the chance 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 amount of damages you will be reduced according to your percentage of blame. This rule is not applicable to the owners of vehicles that are which are rented out or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed a duty of care towards them. Nearly everyone owes this obligation to everyone else, however those who are behind the steering wheel of a motor vehicle are obligated to others in their area of activity. This includes ensuring that they do not cause motor vehicle accidents.

Courtrooms compare an individual's actions with what a normal person would do under the same circumstances to establish what is reasonable standards of care. Expert witnesses are often required in cases involving medical negligence. People who have superior knowledge in a particular field may also be held to an higher standard of care than other people in similar situations.

A breach of a person's duty of care may cause harm to a victim, or their property. The victim must establish that the defendant's breach of their duty led to the injury and damages that they suffered. Causation is an essential element of any negligence claim. It involves proving both the primary and secondary causes of the damage and injury.

For instance, if a driver runs a red stop sign then it's likely that they'll be struck by a car. If their car is damaged they'll be accountable for the repairs. The reason for a crash could be caused by a fracture in the brick that leads to an infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by the defendant is the second factor of negligence that must be proven to win compensation in a personal injury lawsuit. A breach of duty is when the actions taken by the at-fault party are insufficient to what an ordinary person would do under similar circumstances.

For instance, a physician has several professional obligations to his patients, arising from state law and licensing boards. Drivers are required to take care of other drivers and pedestrians, and to follow traffic laws. If a driver violates this duty and results in an accident is responsible for the victim's injuries.

A lawyer can rely on the "reasonable persons" standard to prove that there is a duty to be cautious and then show that the defendant did not adhere to this standard in his conduct. The jury will determine if the defendant met or did not meet the standard.

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach of duty of the defendant was the primary cause for his or her 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's not the cause of the accident on your bicycle. The issue of causation is often challenged in cases of crash by defendants.

Causation

In motor vehicle accident attorney vehicle cases the plaintiff must establish an causal link between breach of the defendant and the injuries. If a plaintiff suffers a neck injury in a rear-end accident and vacayphilippines.com his or her attorney will argue that the incident was the cause of the injury. Other factors that are necessary to cause the collision, like being in a stationary car are not considered to be culpable and will not influence the jury's determination of fault.

It may be harder to prove a causal link between a negligent act and the psychological issues of the plaintiff. The fact that the plaintiff has a an unhappy childhood, a poor relationship with his or her parents, was a user of alcohol and drugs or prior unemployment could have a bearing on the severity of the psychological problems he or she suffers after an accident, but courts typically look at these factors as part of the context from which the plaintiff's accident arose rather than an independent reason for the injuries.

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

Damages

In motor vehicle litigation, a plaintiff could get both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages covers any monetary costs that are easily added up and calculated as an amount, like medical expenses and lost wages, property repairs, 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 suffering and pain, as well as loss of enjoyment, which cannot be reduced to a dollar amount. The damages must be proven by a wide array of evidence, including depositions of family members or Vimeo.com friends of the plaintiff medical records, depositions, or other expert witness testimony.

In cases where there are multiple defendants, Courts will often use comparative negligence rules to determine how much of the total damages award should be allocated between them. The jury has to determine the proportion of fault each defendant is accountable for the accident, and divide the total amount of damages awarded by that percentage. New York law however, does not permit this. 1602 excludes vehicle owners from the comparative negligence rule in cases where injuries are sustained by the drivers of trucks or littleyaksa.yodev.net cars. The process to determine if the presumption is permissive or not is complicated. The majority of the time, only a clear demonstration that the owner refused permission to the driver to operate the vehicle will be sufficient to overturn the presumption.