Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is necessary in cases where liability is challenged. The defendant will then have the chance 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 responsible for an accident the damages you incur will be reduced based on your percentage of fault. This rule is not applicable to owners of vehicles rented out or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a lawsuit for negligence the plaintiff must show that the defendant owed them a duty to exercise reasonable care. This duty is owed to everyone, but people who operate a vehicle owe an even higher duty to other people in their field. This includes not causing accidents in motor vehicles.

In courtrooms the standard of care is established by comparing an individual's behavior with what a normal person would do in the same situations. This is why expert witnesses are often required in cases involving medical malpractice. Experts with a higher level of expertise of a specific area may be held to an even higher standard of care than other people in similar situations.

When a person breaches their duty of care, they could cause injury to the victim or their property. The victim is then required to prove that the defendant's breach of their duty caused the injury and damages that they sustained. Causation is a crucial element of any negligence claim. It requires proving both the proximate and actual causes of the injuries and damages.

For example, if someone is stopped at a red light there is a good chance that they'll be struck by a car. If their car is damaged they'll be responsible for the repairs. But the actual cause of the crash might be a cut from a brick that later develops into a serious 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 receive compensation in a personal injury lawsuit. A breach of duty is when the actions of the person at fault do not match what an ordinary person would do in similar circumstances.

For instance, a doctor is required to perform a number of professional duties for his patients based on the law of the state and licensing boards. Drivers are required to care for other drivers and pedestrians, and follow traffic laws. Any driver who fails to adhere to this duty and creates an accident is accountable for the victim's injuries.

A lawyer can rely on the "reasonable people" standard to demonstrate that there is a duty to be cautious and motor Vehicle Accident lawsuits then demonstrate that defendant failed to meet this standard in his conduct. The jury will decide if the defendant met or did not meet the standard.

The plaintiff must also demonstrate that the breach of duty by the defendant was the sole cause of the plaintiff's injuries. This is sometimes more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty and breach. A defendant may have run through a red light but that wasn't what caused your bicycle accident. The issue of causation is often challenged in cases of crash by defendants.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases the plaintiff must prove an causal link between defendant's breach and their injuries. If the plaintiff suffered an injury to the neck in a rear-end accident the attorney for the plaintiff would argue that the accident was the reason for the injury. Other factors necessary to cause the collision, like being in a stationary car are not culpable and will not impact the jury's determination of fault.

For psychological injuries, however, the link between a negligent act and the victim's afflictions may be more difficult to establish. The reality that the plaintiff experienced a troubles in his or her childhood, had a difficult relationship with their parents, abused drugs and alcohol or experienced prior unemployment could have a impact on the severity of the psychological issues she suffers after a crash, but the courts typically look at these factors as part of the background circumstances from which the plaintiff's accident arose rather than an independent cause of the injuries.

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

Damages

In motor vehicle accident attorneys vehicle litigation, a plaintiff may recover both economic and noneconomic damages. The first category of damages includes any monetary costs that can be easily added up and calculated as a sum, such as medical expenses and lost wages, property repair, and even future financial losses, like diminished earning capacity.

New York law also recognizes the right to recover non-economic damages such as the suffering of others and the loss of enjoyment of life which cannot be reduced to a dollar amount. The proof of these damages is through extensive evidence like depositions from family members and friends of the plaintiff medical records, depositions, or 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 to be split between them. The jury must determine how much responsibility each defendant was at fault for the accident and to then divide the total amount of damages by that percentage of fault. New York law however, does not allow this. 1602 exempts owners of vehicles from the rule of comparative negligence in cases where injuries are sustained by the drivers of cars or trucks. The resulting analysis of whether the presumption of permissive use applies is complex and usually only a clear showing that the owner was explicitly refused permission to operate the vehicle will be able to overcome it.