motor vehicle accident Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is necessary 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, 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 according to your percentage of blame. This rule does not apply to owners of vehicles that are rented or leased out to minors.

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed a duty of care towards them. This duty is owed by all, but those who operate a vehicle owe an even greater obligation to others in their field. This includes ensuring that they don't cause motor vehicle accidents.

Courtrooms evaluate an individual's behavior to what a typical individual would do under similar conditions to determine reasonable standards of care. This is why expert witnesses are frequently required in cases involving medical malpractice. Experts who have a superior understanding in a particular field can also be held to an higher standard of care than other individuals in similar situations.

A person's breach of their duty of care can cause harm to a victim or their property. The victim is then required to show that the defendant's infringement of their duty led to the damage and injury they suffered. Causation is an essential element of any negligence claim. It involves proving both the primary and motor vehicle accidents secondary causes of the damages and injuries.

If a person is stopped at the stop sign then they are more likely to be struck by a vehicle. If their car is damaged, they'll be responsible for the repairs. The cause of a crash could be a fracture in the brick that leads to an infection.

Breach of Duty

The second aspect of negligence is the breach of duty by the defendant. This must be proved in order to be awarded compensation for a personal injury claim. A breach of duty happens when the actions of the party at fault do not match what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.

For instance, a doctor has a variety of professional duties towards his patients. These professional obligations stem from laws of the state and licensing bodies. Motorists have a duty of care to other drivers and pedestrians to drive safely and obey traffic laws. When a driver breaches this obligation of care and causes an accident, he is liable for the victim's injuries.

A lawyer may use the "reasonable people" standard to establish that there is a duty to be cautious and then demonstrate that defendant failed to meet this standard in his conduct. It is a question of fact for the jury to decide whether the defendant met the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also establish that the breach of duty by the defendant was the primary cause of his or her injuries. This is sometimes more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty and breach. A defendant could have driven through a red light but that's not what caused the crash on your bicycle. Because of this, the causation issue is often contested by the defendants in case of a crash.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal link between the defendant's breach of duty and the injuries. If a plaintiff suffers neck injuries in a rear-end collision, his or her attorney will argue that the crash was the reason for the injury. Other factors that contributed to the collision, like being in a stationary car are not culpable and will not influence the jury’s determination of the fault.

It is possible to prove a causal link between a negligent action and the psychological issues of the plaintiff. It may be that the plaintiff has a turbulent past, has a bad relationship with their parents, or has used drugs or alcohol.

If you have been in an accident that is serious to your vehicle, it is important to consult an experienced attorney. The attorneys at Arnold & Clifford, LLP, have extensive experience in representing clients in personal injury commercial and business litigation, and motor vehicle accident attorney vehicle crash cases. Our lawyers have established working relationships with independent medical professionals in a range of specialties as well as expert witnesses in accidents reconstruction and computer simulations as well as with private investigators.

Damages

The damages that a plaintiff can recover in motor vehicle litigation can include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages includes any monetary expenses that can be easily added up and calculated as a total, for example, medical treatment loss of wages, property repair and even future financial losses like a decrease in earning capacity.

New York law recognizes that non-economic damages, such as suffering and pain, as well as loss of enjoyment of living cannot be reduced to cash. The proof of these damages is through extensive evidence such as depositions of family members and friends of the plaintiff medical records, as well as other expert witness testimony.

In cases that involve multiple defendants, Courts will often use comparative negligence rules to determine the proportion of damages award should be allocated between them. The jury must determine the percentage of fault each defendant carries for the incident, and divide the total damages awarded by the percentage. New York law however, doesn't allow this. 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule with respect to injuries sustained by the driver of these vehicles and trucks. The resulting analysis of whether the presumption of permissiveness applies is not straightforward and usually only a clear evidence that the owner was explicitly denied permission to operate the vehicle will be able to overcome it.