Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is required when liability is contested. The defendant is entitled to respond to the complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that if a jury finds you to be responsible for an accident, your damages will be reduced according to your percentage of fault. This rule is not applicable to the owners of vehicles that are which are rented out or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant owed an obligation of care to them. The majority of people owe this obligation to everyone else, but those who take the driving wheel of a motorized vehicle are obligated to the other drivers in their zone of activity. This includes ensuring that they don't cause motor vehicle accidents.

In courtrooms the standard of care is established by comparing an individual's behavior against what a normal individual would do under similar circumstances. This is why expert witnesses are often required when cases involve medical malpractice. Experts with a superior understanding of particular fields may be held to a higher standard of care.

A breach of a person's duty of care could cause harm to the victim or their property. The victim has to show that the defendant violated their obligation and caused the damage or damages they sustained. Causation is a crucial element of any negligence claim. It involves proving the proximate and actual causes of the damages and injuries.

For instance, if a driver is stopped at a red light there is a good chance that they'll be struck by another car. If their car is damaged, they will need to pay for repairs. The real cause of a crash could be caused by a brick cut that causes an infection.

Breach of Duty

A defendant's breach of duty is the second element of negligence that needs to be proved to obtain compensation in a personal injury case. A breach of duty occurs when the at-fault party's actions fall short of what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for Motor vehicle accidents instance has many professional obligations towards his patients. These obligations stem from the law of the state and licensing authorities. Motorists owe a duty of care to other motorists and pedestrians on the road to drive in a safe manner and adhere to traffic laws. Any driver who fails to adhere to this duty and causes an accident is responsible for the injuries of the victim.

Lawyers can use the "reasonable people" standard to prove that there is a duty of prudence and then prove that the defendant did not comply with the standard in his actions. The jury will decide if the defendant complied with or did not meet the standards.

The plaintiff must also prove that the defendant's breach of duty was the primary cause of his or her injuries. This can be more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty and breach. A defendant may have run through a red light, but that wasn't what caused the crash on your bicycle. Because of this, causation is often challenged by the defendants in case of a crash.

Causation

In motor vehicle accident lawsuit 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 suffers neck injuries as a result of an accident with rear-end damage and his or her attorney would argue that the accident was the cause of the injury. Other elements that are required in causing the collision like being in a stationary vehicle are not culpable, and do not affect the jury's decision of the liability.

For psychological injuries, however, the link between an act of negligence and an affected plaintiff's symptoms can be more difficult to establish. It may be because the plaintiff has a turbulent past, a poor relationship with their parents, or has abused drugs or alcohol.

If you have been in an accident involving a motor vehicle that was serious, it is important to consult an experienced attorney. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have years of experience representing clients in motor vehicle accidents cases, business and commercial litigation, and personal injury cases. Our lawyers have established working relationships with independent doctors in various specialties as well as expert witnesses in computer simulations and reconstruction of accident.

Damages

In motor vehicle litigation, a plaintiff could seek both economic and noneconomic damages. The first type of damages includes all monetary costs which are easily added together and then calculated into a total, for example, medical treatment or lost wages, repair to property, or even a future financial loss, like the loss of earning capacity.

New York law recognizes that non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment can't be reduced to money. The damages must be proven through extensive evidence such as depositions from family members and friends of the plaintiff medical records, depositions, or other expert witness testimony.

In cases where there are multiple defendants, Courts will often use rules of comparative negligence to determine how much of the total damages award should be allocated between them. The jury must determine the amount of fault each defendant had for the accident and then divide the total damages awarded by the percentage of fault. New York law however, doesn't allow this. 1602 exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative negligence rule in cases where injuries are sustained by the drivers of cars or trucks. The resulting analysis of whether the presumption of permissiveness applies is complex and usually only a convincing evidence that the owner was explicitly refused permission to operate the car will overcome it.