Motor Vehicle Litigation

When a claim for liability is litigated then it is necessary to file a lawsuit. The defendant is entitled to respond to the Complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that should a jury find you to be at fault for an accident, your damages will be reduced based on your percentage of blame. There is a caveat to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes owners of vehicles which are rented or leased by minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence case the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant was obligated to act with reasonable care. This duty is owed to everyone, but those who drive a vehicle owe an even higher duty to other people in their field. This includes ensuring that they do not cause car accidents.

Courtrooms compare an individual's actions to what a typical individual would do in similar circumstances to establish what is an acceptable standard of care. In the event of medical malpractice expert witnesses are typically required. People with superior knowledge in specific fields could be held to a greater standard of care.

If someone violates their duty of care, it could cause damage to the victim as well as their property. The victim has to demonstrate that the defendant's violation of duty caused the harm and damages they sustained. Causation is an important part of any negligence claim. It involves proving the proximate and real causes of the injury and damages.

If a person is stopped at the stop sign, they are likely to be hit by another vehicle. If their vehicle is damaged, they will be responsible for repairs. The cause of an accident could be a fracture in the brick that leads to an infection.

Breach of Duty

The second element of negligence is the breach of duty committed by the defendant. The breach of duty must be proved in order to obtain compensation in a personal injury case. A breach of duty occurs when the actions of the at-fault person are not in line with what an ordinary person would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for instance, has a number of professional duties towards his patients. These obligations stem from the law of the state and licensing authorities. Drivers have a duty to be considerate of other drivers as well as pedestrians, and to adhere to traffic laws. When a driver breaches this obligation of care and results in an accident, the driver is accountable for the victim's injuries.

A lawyer may use the "reasonable persons" standard to establish that there is a duty of care and then prove that the defendant did not adhere to this standard in his actions. The jury will decide if the defendant complied with or did not meet the standards.

The plaintiff must also establish that the breach of duty of the defendant was the primary cause for his or her injuries. This can be more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty and breach. A defendant could have driven through a red light, but that's not what caused the accident on your bicycle. In this way, causation is frequently disputed by the defendants in case of a crash.

Causation

In motor vehicle Accident law firms vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal connection between the defendant's breach of duty and the injuries. If a plaintiff suffers an injury to the neck in a rear-end accident, his or her attorney would argue that the collision caused the injury. Other elements that are required to produce the collision, like being in a stationary vehicle are not culpable, and do not affect the jury's decision of the liability.

It can be difficult to prove a causal link between an act of negligence and the psychological issues of the plaintiff. It could be the case that the plaintiff has a rocky past, has a bad relationship with their parents, or is a user of drugs or alcohol.

If you have been in an accident that is serious to your vehicle It is imperative to consult an experienced attorney. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have years of experience in representing clients in motor vehicle accidents vehicle accident commercial and business litigation, and personal injury cases. Our lawyers have built working relationships with independent doctors in many specialties, as well as experts in computer simulations and accident reconstruction.

Damages

The damages plaintiffs can claim in a motor vehicle lawsuit include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages is any monetary costs that can easily be added to calculate a sum, such as medical expenses loss of wages, property repairs, and even future financial losses, Motor Vehicle Accident Law Firms like 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, which cannot be reduced to a dollar amount. The damages must be proven through extensive evidence like depositions from family members and friends of the plaintiff, motor vehicle Accident Law firms medical records, or other expert witness testimony.

In cases involving multiple defendants, Courts will often use comparative negligence rules to determine the proportion of damages awarded should be split between them. This requires the jury to determine the amount of fault each defendant was responsible for the accident and to then divide the total amount of damages by the percentage of the fault. New York law however, does not permit this. 1602 exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative negligence rule in cases where injuries are suffered by drivers of trucks or cars. The process to determine if the presumption is permissive is complicated. In general the only way to prove that the owner did not grant permission for the driver to operate the vehicle can overrule the presumption.