Motor Vehicle Litigation

When liability is contested and the liability is disputed, it is necessary to file a lawsuit. The defendant has the option 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, your damages will be reduced according to your percentage of fault. This rule does not apply 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 must show that the defendant was bound by the duty of care toward them. Most people owe this duty to everyone else, however individuals who get behind the driving wheel of a motorized vehicle have a greater obligation to others in their area of activity. This includes ensuring that they don't cause accidents with golden valley motor vehicle accident Lawyer vehicles.

In courtrooms the standard of care is established by comparing an individual's behavior to what a normal person would do in the same situations. This is why expert witnesses are often required when cases involve medical malpractice. Experts with more experience in particular fields may be held to a higher standard of care.

When someone breaches their duty of care, it may cause harm to the victim and/or their property. The victim has to prove that the defendant breached their duty and caused the injury or damage that they suffered. Proving causation is an essential aspect of any negligence case, and it involves investigating both the primary cause of the injury or damages and the proximate cause of the injury or damage.

If someone is driving through the stop sign and fails to obey the stop sign, they could be hit by another vehicle. If their car is damaged they'll be accountable for repairs. The reason for 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 an individual defendant. The breach of duty must be proved in order to receive compensation in a personal injury case. A breach of duty occurs when the actions of the party at fault aren't in line with what reasonable people would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for instance, has a variety of professional obligations to his patients based on laws of the state and licensing boards. Drivers are required to protect other motorists and pedestrians, and to follow traffic laws. If a motorist violates this duty of care and results in an accident, he is accountable for the injuries suffered by the victim.

Lawyers can rely on the "reasonable person" standard to prove the existence of a duty of care and then demonstrate that the defendant failed to meet that standard in his actions. It is a question of fact for the jury to decide if the defendant was in compliance with the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also prove that the defendant's negligence was the sole cause of the plaintiff's injuries. This can be more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty and breach. For example, a defendant may have crossed a red line, but the action was not the sole cause of your bicycle crash. For this reason, the causation issue is often contested by defendants in crash cases.

Causation

In motor vehicle accident lawyer vehicle accidents, the plaintiff must establish a causal link between breach of the defendant and the injuries. If the plaintiff sustained a neck injury in an accident with rear-end damage then his or her attorney will argue that the crash caused the injury. Other elements that could have caused the collision, such as being in a stationary vehicle are not considered to be culpable and will not influence the jury's determination of fault.

For psychological injuries However, the connection between a negligent act and the injured plaintiff's symptoms may be more difficult to establish. It could be the case that the plaintiff has a rocky background, a strained relationship with their parents, or motor vehicle accident attorney is a user of drugs or alcohol.

It is imperative to consult an experienced attorney if you have been involved in a serious motor vehicle accident. The attorneys at Arnold & Clifford, LLP, have extensive experience in representing clients in personal injury, commercial and business litigation, and motor vehicle accident law firm vehicle crash cases. Our lawyers have established working relationships with independent physicians in many areas of expertise as well as expert witnesses in computer simulations and accident reconstruction.

Damages

In motor vehicle litigation, a plaintiff could seek both economic and noneconomic damages. The first type of damages encompasses all monetary costs which can easily be summed up and then calculated into an overall amount, including medical expenses and lost wages, repairs to property, and even the possibility of future financial loss, such diminished earning capacity.

New York law also recognizes the right to recover non-economic damages like pain and suffering as well as loss of enjoyment of life, which cannot be reduced to a monetary amount. However the damages must be established to exist with the help of extensive evidence, such as deposition testimony of the plaintiff's close family members and friends medical records, other expert witness testimony.

In cases involving multiple defendants, Courts will often use the concept of comparative negligence to decide how much of the total damages award should be allocated between them. The jury will determine the percentage of fault each defendant is accountable for the incident, and divide the total damages awarded by that percentage. However, New York law 1602 does not exempt vehicle owners from the comparative negligence rule in the event of injuries sustained by drivers of trucks or cars. The resulting analysis of whether the presumption of permissive use applies is complex and typically only a convincing evidence that the owner has explicitly denied permission to operate the vehicle will be able to overcome it.