Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is required when the liability is being contested. The defendant then has the opportunity to respond to the complaint.

New York follows pure comparative fault rules, which means that if the jury finds that you are responsible for causing an accident, your damages award will be reduced by the percentage of negligence. This rule does not apply to the owners of vehicles that are that are leased or rented to minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence case, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed them a duty to exercise reasonable care. Almost everybody owes this duty to everyone else, but individuals who get behind the steering wheel of a motor vehicle have a greater obligation to other people in their field of activity. This includes ensuring that they do not cause springdale motor vehicle accident Lawsuit vehicle accidents.

In courtrooms the quality of care is determined by comparing an individual's conduct against what a normal individual would do in similar situations. In the event of medical malpractice experts are typically required. Experts who are knowledgeable in a particular field can also be held to an even higher standard of care than others in similar situations.

A breach of a person's obligation of care can cause harm to the victim or their property. The victim must prove that the defendant breached their duty of care and caused the injury or damage that they suffered. Proving causation is a critical part of any negligence case and requires investigating both the primary cause of the injury or damages as well as the reason for the injury or damage.

For instance, if a person is stopped at a red light then it's likely that they'll be struck by a car. If their car is damaged, they'll have to pay for the repairs. The cause of a crash could be caused by a fracture in the brick that leads to an infection.

Breach of Duty

The second element of negligence is the breach of duty by an individual defendant. The breach of duty must be proved in order to obtain compensation for personal injury claims. A breach of duty occurs when the at-fault party's actions do not match what an average person would do in similar circumstances.

For example, a doctor has several professional duties to his patients based on laws of the state and licensing boards. Drivers have a duty to take care of other drivers as well as pedestrians, and to follow traffic laws. Drivers who violate this obligation and causes an accident is accountable for the victim's injuries.

A lawyer can use "reasonable people" standard to prove that there is a duty of care and then show that defendant did not adhere to this standard in his conduct. It is a matter of fact that the jury has to decide if the defendant complied with the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also demonstrate 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. A defendant could have run through a red light but that's not the cause of the bicycle accident. The issue of causation is often challenged in cases of crash by defendants.

Causation

In motor 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 an accident that involved rear-end collisions, his or her attorney will argue that the incident caused the injury. Other factors that contributed to the collision, like being in a stationary vehicle are not considered to be culpable and won't affect the jury's determination of the fault.

For psychological injuries However, the connection between an act of negligence and an affected plaintiff's symptoms can be more difficult to establish. The fact that the plaintiff suffered from a an uneasy childhood, a bad relationship with his or her parents, abused alcohol and drugs or had prior unemployment could have a influence on the severity of the psychological issues he or is suffering from following an accident, however, the courts typically consider these factors as an element of the background conditions that caused the accident arose rather than an independent cause of the injuries.

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

Damages

In motor vehicle litigation, a person can seek both economic and noneconomic damages. The first category of damages covers all monetary costs which can be easily added together and calculated as an overall amount, including medical expenses and lost wages, repairs to property, and even future financial losses, such as loss of earning capacity.

New York law recognizes that non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life cannot be reduced to money. However these damages must be proven to exist through extensive evidence, such as deposition testimony from plaintiff's close family members and friends medical records, as well as other expert witness testimony.

In the event of multiple defendants, courts will often use comparative fault rules to determine the amount of total damages to be split between them. The jury must determine the percentage of fault each defendant has for the accident and then divide the total amount of damages awarded by the same percentage. However, New York law 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule in relation to injuries suffered by driver of those cars and trucks. The subsequent analysis of whether the presumption that permissive use applies is complex, and typically only a clear proof that the owner specifically denied permission to operate the car will overcome it.