공지사항

Motor Vehicle Litigation

If liability is contested in court, it becomes necessary to start a lawsuit. 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 that you are responsible 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 that are leased or rented to minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence suit the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant was obligated to act with reasonable care. Almost everybody owes this duty to everyone else, but those who take the driving wheel of a motorized vehicle are obligated to others in their area of activity. This includes ensuring that they do not cause motor vehicle accidents.

Courtrooms examine an individual's conduct to what a typical individual would do in similar circumstances to determine reasonable standards of care. This is why expert witnesses are often required in cases of medical malpractice. Experts with more experience in a certain field may be held to a greater standard of treatment.

When a person breaches their duty of care, it could cause injury to the victim or their property. The victim must establish that the defendant's breach of their duty resulted in the damage and injury they suffered. Causation is a key element of any negligence claim. It requires proving both the proximate and actual causes of the injury and damages.

For example, if someone has a red light and is stopped, they'll be hit by a vehicle. If their car is damaged, they'll need to pay for repairs. But the reason for the crash could be a cut from bricks, which later turn into a serious infection.

Breach of Duty

The second element of negligence is the breach of duty by a defendant. The breach of duty must be proved in order to obtain compensation for personal injury claims. A breach of duty is when the actions taken by the at-fault party fall short of what an ordinary person would do under similar circumstances.

For instance, a doctor has several professional obligations to his patients, arising from state law and licensing boards. Motorists have a duty of care to other drivers and pedestrians on the road to be safe and follow traffic laws. When a driver breaches this obligation of care and results in an accident, he is responsible for the victim's injuries.

Lawyers can use the "reasonable people" standard to demonstrate that there is a duty of care and then show that the defendant did not meet the standard in his actions. The jury will decide if the defendant fulfilled or did not meet the standards.

The plaintiff must also prove that the defendant's breach was the sole cause of the plaintiff's injuries. This is sometimes more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty and Motor Vehicle Litigation breach. A defendant may have run through a red light but that's not the cause of the bicycle accident. Because of this, causation is often challenged by defendants in crash cases.

Causation

In motor vehicle lawsuit vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish an causal link between breach by the defendant and their injuries. For instance, if a plaintiff suffered an injury to his neck in an accident that involved rear-ends and his or her lawyer might argue that the accident caused the injury. Other factors that contributed to the collision, like being in a stationary car are not considered to be culpable and won't affect the jury's decision on the degree of fault.

For psychological injuries However, the connection between a negligent act and an injured plaintiff's symptoms could be more difficult to establish. It may be the case that the plaintiff has had a difficult past, has a bad relationship with their parents, or has been a user of drugs or alcohol.

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

Damages

The damages a plaintiff may recover in motor vehicle attorneys vehicle litigation can include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages includes any monetary expenses that can be easily added up and calculated as a sum, such as medical treatment 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 pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment, which cannot be reduced to a dollar amount. However, these damages must be established to exist with the help of extensive evidence, including deposition testimony from the plaintiff's close family members and friends medical records, deposition testimony, and other expert witness testimony.

In cases where there are multiple defendants, courts often use comparative fault rules to determine the amount of damages to be divided between them. The jury must determine the degree of fault each defendant incurred in the accident and then divide the total amount of damages by that percentage of blame. New York law however, does not allow for this. 1602 exempts owners of vehicles from the rule of comparative negligence in the event of injuries sustained by drivers of cars or trucks. The analysis to determine whether the presumption of permissiveness is complex. Most of the time it is only a clear evidence that the owner was not able to grant permission to the driver to operate the vehicle can overrule the presumption.