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Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is necessary when liability is contested. The defendant has the right to respond to the Complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that, when a jury finds that you are responsible for an accident, your damages will be reduced based on 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 has to prove that the defendant was obligated to act with reasonable care. Almost everybody owes this duty to everyone else, however individuals who get behind the steering wheel of a motor vehicle have a higher obligation to the other drivers in their zone of activity. This includes not causing accidents with motor vehicles.

Courtrooms compare an individual's actions to what a typical individual would do under similar circumstances to establish what is a reasonable standard of care. In the case of medical malpractice expert witnesses are typically required. Experts who have a superior understanding in a particular field can also be held to an even higher standard of care than other people in similar situations.

A person's breach of their obligation of care can cause harm to a victim, or their property. The victim must then show that the defendant's infringement of their duty led to the damage and injury they have suffered. Causation is a key element of any negligence claim. It requires proving both the proximate and real causes of the damage and injury.

For instance, if a driver is stopped at a red light then it's likely that they'll be hit by a car. If their car is damaged they'll be responsible for repairs. However, the real cause of the accident could be a cut in the brick, which then develops into a dangerous infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by a defendant is the second element of negligence that needs to be proven to win compensation in a personal injury lawsuit. A breach of duty is when the actions taken by the at-fault party do not match what an ordinary person would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for example has many professional obligations to his patients, which stem from laws of the state and licensing bodies. Drivers are required to care for other drivers and pedestrians, and follow traffic laws. If a driver violates this obligation and creates an accident is accountable for the injuries of the victim.

Lawyers can rely on the "reasonable person" standard to establish the existence of an obligation of care. The lawyer must then demonstrate that the defendant did not comply with the standard in his actions. The jury will determine if the defendant met or did not meet the standard.

The plaintiff must also demonstrate that the defendant's breach was the main cause of the plaintiff's injuries. It is more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. A defendant could have run through a red light, however, that's not the reason for your bicycle accident. This is why causation is often challenged by defendants in collision cases.

Causation

In motor vehicle lawyers vehicle cases the plaintiff must prove that there is a causal connection between the breach of the defendant and the injuries. For instance, if a plaintiff suffered neck injuries as a result of an accident that involved rear-ends, his or her lawyer might argue that the collision caused the injury. Other elements that are required for the collision to occur, like being in a stationary vehicle are not considered to be culpable and therefore do not affect the jury's decision of liability.

For psychological injuries However, the connection between negligence and the injured plaintiff's symptoms may be more difficult to establish. It may be because the plaintiff has a turbulent past, a poor relationship with their parents, or has been a user of drugs or alcohol.

If you have been in a serious motor vehicle accident it is crucial to speak with an experienced attorney. The attorneys at Arnold & Clifford, LLP have years of experience representing clients in personal injury commercial and business litigation and motor vehicle lawyers vehicle accident cases. Our lawyers have formed relationships with independent physicians with a variety 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 attorney vehicle litigation include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages includes any monetary costs that can easily be added up and calculated as the sum of 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 recover non-economic damages like the suffering of others and the loss of enjoyment of life which cannot be reduced to a dollar amount. The damages must be proven by a wide array of evidence, including depositions from family members and Motor Vehicle Litigation friends of the plaintiff or medical records, or other expert witness testimony.

In cases where there are multiple defendants, Motor Vehicle Litigation courts typically apply the rules of comparative fault to determine the amount of total damages that should be divided between them. The jury has to determine the percentage of blame each defendant is accountable for the accident and then divide the total amount of damages awarded by that percentage. However, New York law 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule when it comes to injuries suffered by driver of the vehicles. The subsequent analysis of whether the presumption that permissive use applies is not straightforward, and typically only a convincing evidence that the owner specifically refused permission to operate the vehicle will overcome it.