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Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is necessary when liability is contested. The defendant will then be given the chance to respond to the complaint.

New York follows pure comparative fault rules which means that if the jury finds you responsible for the crash the amount of damages awarded will be reduced by the percentage of negligence. There is a slight exception to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes the owners of vehicles that are which are rented or leased by minors.

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed a duty of care towards them. Nearly everyone owes this obligation to everyone else, however those who are behind the wheel of a motor vehicle have an even higher duty to other people in their field of operation. This includes not causing accidents in motor vehicles.

Courtrooms compare an individual's actions to what a typical individual would do under the same circumstances to determine what constitutes reasonable standards of care. In the event of medical malpractice, expert witnesses are usually required. Experts with a higher level of expertise in a particular field can also be held to an even higher standard of care than other individuals in similar situations.

If someone violates their duty of care, it may cause injury to the victim or their property. The victim has to show that the defendant violated their duty and motor vehicle attorney caused the harm or damages they suffered. The proof of causation is an essential aspect of any negligence claim which involves taking into consideration both the real reason for the injury or damages as well as the proximate reason for the injury or damage.

For example, if someone runs a red light there is a good chance that they will be hit by a vehicle. If their car is damaged, they'll be responsible for the repairs. The reason for the accident could be a cut in bricks, which later turn into a potentially dangerous infection.

Breach of Duty

The second element of negligence is the breach of duty committed by a defendant. This must be proved in order to receive compensation for personal injury claims. A breach of duty occurs when the actions of the person at fault fall short of what a normal person would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for example has many professional duties towards his patients that are derived from laws of the state and licensing bodies. Motorists have a duty of care to other drivers and pedestrians to drive safely and observe traffic laws. A driver who breaches this duty and causes an accident is accountable for the victim's injuries.

A lawyer may use the "reasonable person" standard to establish the existence of the duty of care, and then prove that the defendant failed to comply with the standard in his actions. It is a matter of fact that the jury has to decide whether the defendant fulfilled the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach of duty by the defendant was the direct cause of the plaintiff's injuries. It can be more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. For instance the defendant could have crossed a red light, but it's likely that his or her actions was not the sole cause of your bicycle crash. For this reason, 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 his or her injuries. If a plaintiff suffered an injury to the neck in an accident with rear-end damage, his or her attorney will argue that the incident caused the injury. Other factors that are essential in causing the collision like being in a stationary vehicle, are not culpable and will not affect the jury's determination of liability.

For psychological injuries However, the connection between a negligent act and an injured plaintiff's symptoms may be more difficult to establish. The fact that the plaintiff has a a troubled childhood, poor relationship with their parents, was a user of alcohol and drugs, or suffered prior unemployment could have a bearing on the severity of the psychological problems he or she suffers after a crash, but the courts typically consider these factors as part of the background circumstances that caused the accident resulted rather than an independent cause of the injuries.

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

Damages

The damages plaintiffs can claim in motor vehicle litigation can include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages covers any monetary costs 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 such as diminished earning capacity.

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

In cases where there are multiple defendants, Courts will often use the concept of comparative negligence to decide the percentage of damages awarded should be split between them. The jury must decide the percentage of blame each defendant is accountable for the incident and then divide the total amount of damages awarded by the same percentage. However, Motor Vehicle Attorney New York law 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule in relation to injuries sustained by drivers of the vehicles. The subsequent analysis of whether the presumption of permissive usage applies is not straightforward, and typically only a clear evidence that the owner specifically denied permission to operate the car will be sufficient to overcome it.