motor vehicle accident Vehicle Litigation

When a claim for liability is litigated then it is necessary to make a complaint. The defendant will then have the chance to respond to the complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that when a jury finds that you were at fault for an accident the amount of damages you will be reduced according to your percentage of fault. This rule does not apply to the owners of vehicles that 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. This duty is owed by all, but those who drive a vehicle owe an even higher duty to other people in their field. This includes ensuring that there are no accidents in Motor Vehicle accident lawyers vehicles.

Courtrooms compare an individual's actions with what a normal person would do in similar conditions to determine a reasonable standard of care. Expert witnesses are frequently required in cases involving medical malpractice. Experts who are knowledgeable of a specific area may also be held to the highest standards of care than other people in similar situations.

A person's breach of their obligation of care can cause harm to the victim or their property. The victim is then required to prove that the defendant breached their obligation and caused the damage or damage they sustained. Causation is a key element of any negligence claim. It involves proving both the actual and proximate causes of the injuries and damages.

If a person is stopped at an intersection, they are likely to be hit by another vehicle. If their vehicle is damaged, they'll need to pay for repairs. But the reason for the crash could be a cut on a brick that later develops into a serious infection.

Breach of Duty

A defendant's breach of duty is the second element of negligence that needs to be proved to obtain compensation in a personal injury case. A breach of duty happens when the at-fault party's actions are not in line with what reasonable people would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for instance, has a number of professional duties towards his patients. These professional obligations stem from state law and licensing bodies. Drivers are bound to take care of other drivers and pedestrians, and to follow traffic laws. Drivers who violate this duty and results in an accident is responsible for the victim's injuries.

Lawyers can use the "reasonable individuals" standard to demonstrate that there is a duty of care and motor vehicle Accident lawyers then show that the defendant did not comply with this standard with his actions. The jury will determine if the defendant met or did not meet the standards.

The plaintiff must also demonstrate that the defendant's breach was the main cause of the plaintiff's injuries. It can be more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. A defendant may have run through a red light but that's not the cause of the accident on your bicycle. For this reason, the causation issue is often contested by defendants in crash cases.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal connection between the defendant's breach of duty and their injuries. If a plaintiff suffered an injury to the neck in a rear-end accident, his or her attorney will argue that the incident caused the injury. Other factors that contributed to the collision, such as being in a stationary car, are not culpable, and will not influence the jury's decision on the fault.

It could be more difficult to establish a causal connection between an act of negligence and the plaintiff's psychological problems. The fact that the plaintiff suffered from a a troubled childhood, poor relationship with their parents, abused drugs and alcohol or experienced previous unemployment may have some influence on the severity the psychological issues suffers from following an accident, however, the courts typically consider these factors as part of the background circumstances from which the plaintiff's accident was triggered, not as a separate cause of the injuries.

If you've been involved in a serious motor vehicle crash it is essential 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 cases. Our lawyers have developed working relationships with independent doctors in different specialties, as well as expert witnesses in computer simulations and reconstruction of accidents.

Damages

The damages that plaintiffs can seek in a motor vehicle lawsuit include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages includes any monetary costs that can easily be added up and calculated as a total, for example, medical treatment and lost wages, property repair, 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 the suffering of others and the loss of enjoyment of life, which cannot be reduced to a monetary amount. However, these damages must be proven to exist with the help of extensive evidence, such as deposition testimony from plaintiff's close family members and friends medical records, other expert witness testimony.

In the event of multiple defendants, courts will typically use the comparative fault rule to determine the amount of total damages to be split between them. This requires the jury to determine how much fault each defendant was responsible for the accident and to then divide the total damages award by the percentage of fault. New York law however, does not permit this. 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule when it comes to injuries sustained by the driver of the vehicles. The subsequent analysis of whether the presumption of permissive usage applies is complex, and typically only a convincing evidence that the owner specifically denied permission to operate the vehicle will be able to overcome it.