Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is necessary when the liability is being contested. The Defendant will then have the chance to respond to the complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that, if a jury finds that you were at fault for an accident the amount of damages you will be reduced according to your percentage of blame. 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 demonstrate that the defendant owed them a duty to act with reasonable care. Almost everybody owes this duty to everyone else, but those who sit behind the steering wheel of a motor vehicle have a greater obligation to others in their area of operation. This includes not causing accidents with motor vehicle accident lawyer vehicles.

Courtrooms compare an individual's actions to what a typical individual would do under similar circumstances to determine what constitutes an acceptable standard of care. In cases of medical malpractice experts are typically required. People who have superior knowledge in a particular field can also be held to a higher standard of care than others in similar situations.

A person's breach of their duty of care could cause harm to the victim or their property. The victim is then required to establish that the defendant's breach of their duty resulted in the injury and damages that they suffered. Causation is a key element of any negligence claim. It requires proving both the primary and secondary causes of the damages and injuries.

For instance, if a person runs a red light and is stopped, they'll be hit by a vehicle. If their car is damaged they will be responsible for the repairs. The cause of an accident could be a brick cut that develops into an infection.

Breach of Duty

The second element of negligence is the breach of duty by the defendant. It must be proven in order to receive compensation for personal injury claims. A breach of duty occurs when the actions of the at-fault person do not match what an ordinary person would do under similar circumstances.

For instance, a doctor has a variety of professional obligations to his patients stemming from the law of the state and motor vehicle accident licensing boards. Motorists owe a duty of care to other motorists and pedestrians to be safe and follow traffic laws. Drivers who violate this duty and causes an accident is accountable for the victim's injuries.

A lawyer may use the "reasonable individuals" standard to prove that there is a duty of prudence and then demonstrate that defendant did not meet this standard with his actions. The jury will determine if the defendant met or did not meet the standards.

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach of duty of the defendant was the primary cause of the injuries. This is sometimes more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty or breach. For instance, a defendant may have crossed a red line, however, the act wasn't the main cause of your bike crash. In this way, causation is often contested by defendants in collision cases.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff has to establish a causal connection between the defendant's breach of duty and their injuries. For instance, if the plaintiff suffered a neck injury from an accident that involved rear-ends and their lawyer might argue that the accident caused the injury. Other elements that are required for the collision to occur, such as being in a stationary vehicle, are not culpable and do not affect the jury's determination of the liability.

For psychological injuries, however, the link between an act of negligence and an affected plaintiff's symptoms can be more difficult to establish. The fact that the plaintiff had troubles in his or her childhood, had a difficult relationship with his or her parents, used alcohol and drugs, or suffered previous unemployment may have some impact on the severity of the psychological issues he or she suffers after an accident, but courts generally view these factors as part of the circumstances that caused the accident arose rather than an independent cause of the injuries.

It is important to consult an experienced lawyer if you have been involved in a serious motor vehicle accident. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have extensive experience in representing clients in motor vehicle accident commercial and business litigation, as well as personal injury cases. Our lawyers have established working relationships with independent physicians in many specialties, as well as experts in computer simulations and accident reconstruction.

Damages

In motor vehicle litigation, a plaintiff could recover both economic and noneconomic damages. The first category of damages includes all costs that can easily be added up and calculated into an overall amount, including medical treatments or lost wages, repair to property, and even future financial loss, for instance loss of earning capacity.

New York law recognizes that non-economic damages such as suffering and pain, as well as loss of enjoyment, cannot be reduced to cash. These damages must be established with a large amount of evidence, such as depositions from family members and friends of the plaintiff medical records, as well as other expert witness testimony.

In cases where there are multiple defendants, courts will often use comparative fault rules to determine the amount of total damages that should be divided between them. The jury must determine the amount of fault each defendant is accountable for the accident and then divide the total damages awarded by the same percentage. However, New York law 1602 disqualifies vehicle owners from the comparative negligence rule in the event of injuries sustained by the drivers of trucks or cars. The subsequent analysis of whether the presumption of permissiveness applies is complicated and typically only a clear showing that the owner has explicitly did not have permission to operate his car will be sufficient to overcome it.