Motor Vehicle Litigation

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

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

Duty of Care

In a negligence suit, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed them a duty to act with reasonable care. Most people owe this duty to everyone else, however those who take the driving wheel of a motorized vehicle have a greater obligation to the other drivers in their zone of operation. This includes not causing motor vehicle accident lawyers vehicle accidents.

Courtrooms assess an individual's actions with what a normal person would do under similar conditions to determine reasonable standards of care. In the event of medical malpractice expert witnesses are typically required. Experts with a superior understanding of specific fields could be held to a greater standard of care.

When a person breaches their duty of care, it can cause damage to the victim as well as their property. The victim has to establish that the defendant's breach of their duty caused the harm and damages they have suffered. Causation is a key element of any negligence claim. It requires proof of both the proximate and actual causes of the damages and injuries.

For instance, if someone has a red light then it's likely that they'll be hit by another car. If their vehicle is damaged, they will be responsible for the repairs. However, the real cause of the crash could be a cut from the brick, which then develops into a deadly infection.

Breach of Duty

The second element of negligence is the breach of duty by an individual defendant. This must be proved for compensation for personal injury claims. 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 instance, a doctor is required to perform a number of professional duties for his patients based on laws of the state and licensing boards. Motorists are required to show care to other motorists and pedestrians to drive safely and observe traffic laws. If a driver violates this duty of care and causes an accident, he is liable for the injuries suffered by the victim.

A lawyer may use the "reasonable people" standard to establish that there is a duty of caution and then prove that the defendant did not comply with the standard in his actions. It is a matter of fact that the jury has to decide if the defendant fulfilled the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also demonstrate that the defendant's negligence was the primary cause of the plaintiff's injuries. It is more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. A defendant may have run through a red light, but that's not what caused the accident on your bicycle. Because of this, the causation issue is often contested by the defendants in cases of crash.

Causation

In motor vehicle-related cases, the plaintiff must establish that there is a causal connection between the breach of the defendant and the injuries. If a plaintiff suffered neck injuries in an accident that involved rear-end collisions and his or her attorney would argue that the collision was the reason for the injury. Other factors necessary to cause the collision, such as being in a stationary vehicle are not culpable and will not affect the jury's decision to determine the fault.

It may be harder to establish a causal link between an act of negligence and the psychological symptoms of the plaintiff. The reality that the plaintiff experienced a a troubled childhood, motor Vehicle accident lawyers poor relationship with his or her parents, experimented with drugs and alcohol or experienced previous unemployment may have some impact on the severity of the psychological issues she suffers after a crash, but the courts typically look at these factors as part of the circumstances that caused the accident resulted rather than an independent reason for the injuries.

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

Damages

The damages plaintiffs can seek in a motor vehicle lawsuit include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages is any monetary costs that can be easily 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 seek non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering as well as loss of enjoyment, which cannot be reduced to a monetary amount. These damages must be established through extensive evidence such as depositions of family members and friends of the plaintiff medical records, as well as other expert witness testimony.

In cases involving multiple defendants, Courts will often use comparative negligence rules to determine the percentage of damages awarded should be divided between them. The jury must determine the degree of fault each defendant was at fault for the accident and to then divide the total amount of damages by that percentage of blame. New York law however, does not allow this. 1602 specifically excludes owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule in relation to injuries sustained by the driver of these vehicles and trucks. The subsequent analysis of whether the presumption of permissiveness applies is not straightforward, and typically only a clear proof that the owner explicitly refused permission to operate the vehicle will be able to overcome it.