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Motor Vehicle Litigation

If the liability is challenged then it is necessary to file a lawsuit. The defendant has the option to respond to the Complaint.

New York follows pure comparative fault rules and, if the jury finds that you are responsible for causing the crash the damages awarded to you will be reduced by your 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 negligence lawsuit the plaintiff must show that the defendant owed them a duty to act with reasonable care. The majority of people owe this obligation to everyone else, but individuals who get behind the steering wheel of a motor vehicle have an even higher duty to other people in their field of operation. This includes not causing motor vehicle accidents.

Courtrooms examine an individual's conduct to what a typical individual would do in similar circumstances to establish what is a reasonable standard of care. In the event of medical negligence expert witnesses are typically required. People who have superior knowledge in a specific field could also be held to the highest standards of care than others in similar situations.

A breach of a person's obligation of care can cause harm to a victim, or their property. The victim has to establish that the defendant's breach of their duty led to the damage and injury they have suffered. Causation proof is a crucial part of any negligence case and requires considering both the actual cause of the injury or damages, as well as the causal cause of the damage or injury.

If someone runs a stop sign then they are more likely to be struck by another vehicle. If their car is damaged, they'll have to pay for the repairs. The real cause of a crash could be caused by a brick cut that develops into an infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by the defendant is the second element of negligence that needs to be proved to obtain compensation in a personal injury case. A breach of duty is when the actions taken by the person at fault are insufficient to what an ordinary person would do under similar circumstances.

For instance, a physician has several professional obligations to his patients that are governed by the law of the state and licensing boards. Motorists have a duty of care to other motorists and pedestrians on the road to be safe and follow traffic laws. If a driver fails to comply with this duty of care and results in an accident, the driver is liable for the injuries suffered by the victim.

A lawyer may use the "reasonable person" standard to establish the existence of the duty of care, and then prove that the defendant did not meet the standard in his actions. The jury will determine if the defendant met or did not meet the standard.

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach of duty of the defendant was the proximate cause of his or her injuries. It is more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. For instance an individual defendant could have crossed a red line, but the action wasn't the proximate reason for your bicycle crash. This is why causation is often contested by the defendants in case of a crash.

Causation

In motor vehicle lawsuit vehicle-related cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal link between breach of the defendant and the injuries. For example, if the plaintiff sustained neck injuries as a result of a rear-end collision and his or her lawyer would argue that the accident caused the injury. Other factors that contributed to the collision, such as being in a stationary vehicle are not culpable and will not influence the jury’s determination of the cause of the accident.

It could be more difficult to establish a causal link between a negligent act, and the plaintiff's psychological problems. The fact that the plaintiff had an uneasy childhood, a bad relationship with their parents, abused alcohol and drugs or had prior unemployment could have a influence on the severity the psychological issues he or suffers from following a crash, but the courts generally view these factors as part of the background circumstances that led to the accident from which the plaintiff's injury arose rather than an independent cause of the injuries.

If you've been involved in a serious motor vehicle claim vehicle crash, it is important to consult an experienced attorney. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have extensive experience representing clients in motor vehicle attorney vehicle accident commercial and business litigation, and personal injury cases. Our lawyers have established working relationships with independent physicians in various specialties as well as experts in computer simulations and reconstruction of accidents.

Damages

The damages a plaintiff can recover in a motor vehicle case include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages includes the costs of monetary value that can easily be added up and calculated as the total amount, which includes medical treatments, lost wages, repairs to property, and motor vehicle case even the possibility of future financial loss, such diminished earning capacity.

New York law recognizes that non-economic damages like suffering and pain, as well as loss of enjoyment, cannot be reduced to financial value. These damages must be established by a wide array of evidence, including depositions of family members and friends of the plaintiff or 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 how much of the total damages awarded should 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 awarded by that percentage of fault. New York law however, does not allow this. 1602 does not exempt vehicle owners from the comparative negligence rule in cases where injuries are suffered by drivers of trucks or cars. The subsequent analysis of whether the presumption that permissive use applies is complex 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.