공지사항

Motor Vehicle Litigation

When liability is contested in court, it becomes necessary to bring a lawsuit. The Defendant will then have the opportunity to respond to the complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that, should a jury find you to be responsible for an accident and you are found to be at fault, your damages will be reduced based on your percentage of fault. This rule is not applicable to owners of vehicles which are rented out or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence case, the plaintiff must show that the defendant owed the duty of care toward them. Nearly everyone owes this obligation to everyone else, but individuals who get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle accident lawyer vehicle have a greater obligation to the people in their area of activity. This includes not causing motor vehicle accidents.

In courtrooms, the standards of care are determined by comparing an individual's actions with what a normal person would do under similar conditions. In the case of medical malpractice, expert witnesses are usually required. Experts with more experience in specific fields could be held to a higher standard of medical care.

A breach of a person's duty of care could cause harm to a victim or their property. The victim must 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 involves proving both the primary and secondary causes of the injury and damages.

For instance, if a driver runs a red stop sign then it's likely that they'll be struck by another car. If their car is damaged, they will have to pay for the repairs. The actual cause of a crash could be caused by a brick cut that causes an infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by a defendant is the second factor of negligence that must be proved in order to secure compensation in a personal injury claim. A breach of duty happens when the actions of a party who is at fault are not in line with what an average person would do in similar circumstances.

For example, a doctor has several professional obligations to his patients that are governed by state law and licensing boards. Drivers are obliged to protect other motorists and pedestrians, and adhere to traffic laws. If a motorist violates this duty of care and causes an accident, he is accountable for the injury suffered by the victim.

A lawyer may use the "reasonable person" standard to prove the existence of an obligation of care. The lawyer must then prove that the defendant did not comply with the standard in his actions. It is a matter of fact for the jury to decide whether the defendant was in compliance with the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also demonstrate that the defendant's breach was the main cause of the plaintiff's injuries. This can be more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty or breach. For instance, a defendant may have crossed a red light, but his or her action wasn't the main cause of your bicycle crash. For this reason, causation is frequently disputed by the defendants in cases of crash.

Causation

In motor vehicle accidents, the plaintiff must establish that there is a causal connection between the breach of the defendant and the injuries. For instance, if a plaintiff sustained neck injuries as a result of an accident that involved rear-ends and his or her lawyer could argue that the collision caused the injury. Other factors that are needed to cause the collision, such as being in a stationary car, are not culpable and do not affect the jury's decision of liability.

For psychological injuries, however, the link between a negligent act and the injured plaintiff's symptoms could be more difficult to establish. The reality that the plaintiff experienced a an unhappy childhood, a poor relationship with his or her parents, experimented with alcohol and drugs or had previous unemployment may have some bearing on the severity of the psychological issues he or is suffering from following an accident, however, the courts typically look at these factors as part of the circumstances from which the plaintiff's accident was triggered, not as a separate reason for the injuries.

If you have been in a serious motor vehicle accident it is essential to speak with 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 built working relationships with independent physicians in different specialties as well as experts in computer simulations and reconstruction of accidents.

Damages

In motor vehicle litigation, a plaintiff may seek both economic and noneconomic damages. The first category of damages encompasses the costs of monetary value that can be easily added together and then calculated into a total, for example, medical expenses as well as lost wages, repairs to property, and even the possibility of future financial loss, such a 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 monetary amount. These damages must be proved with a large amount of evidence, such as depositions from family members and friends of the plaintiff medical records, depositions, or other expert witness testimony.

In cases that involve multiple defendants, Courts will often use the rules of comparative negligence to determine how much of the damages awarded should be split between them. The jury must determine how much fault each defendant was at fault for the accident and to then divide the total damages awarded by that percentage of blame. However, New York law 1602 exempts owners of vehicles from the rule of comparative negligence in cases where injuries are caused by drivers of cars or trucks. The process to determine if the presumption of permissiveness is complex. In general it is only a clear evidence that the owner refused permission to the driver to operate the vehicle will overcome the presumption.