motor vehicle accident lawyer Vehicle Litigation

When liability is contested, it becomes necessary to bring a lawsuit. The defendant is entitled to respond to the Complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that in the event that a jury determines that you were at fault for an accident, your damages will be reduced according to your percentage of fault. There is an exception to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes owners of vehicles which are rented or leased by minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence suit, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant was obligated to act with reasonable care. This duty is owed by all people, however those who operate a vehicle owe an even greater obligation to other people in their field. This includes ensuring that they do not cause motor vehicle accidents.

In courtrooms the standards of care are determined by comparing an individual's behavior against what a normal individual would do in the same circumstances. This is why expert witnesses are often required when cases involve medical malpractice. Experts who have a superior understanding in a particular field may be held to a higher standard of care than other individuals in similar situations.

A breach of a person's obligation of care can cause injury to a victim or their property. The victim must show that the defendant's infringement of their duty caused the harm and damages they have suffered. Causation is a crucial element of any negligence claim. It requires proof of both the primary and secondary causes of the damage and injury.

For instance, if a driver runs a red light there is a good chance that they'll be hit by a car. If their vehicle is damaged, they will have to pay for the repairs. The actual cause of the crash could be a brick cut that develops into an infection.

Breach of Duty

A defendant's breach of duty is the second aspect of negligence that has to be proven to win compensation in a personal injury claim. A breach of duty occurs when the actions of a party who is at fault do not match what reasonable people would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for instance, has a variety of professional obligations to his patients that are governed by laws of the state and licensing boards. Motorists have a duty of care to other motorists and pedestrians on the road to drive safely and obey traffic laws. Any driver who fails to adhere to this duty and creates an accident is accountable for the injuries of the victim.

A lawyer can rely on the "reasonable person" standard to establish the existence of the duty of care, and then prove that the defendant did not meet the standard in his actions. The jury will decide if the defendant met or did not meet the standard.

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

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff has to establish a causal connection between the defendant's breach of duty and the injuries. If a plaintiff suffers a neck injury in an accident that involved rear-end collisions then his or her attorney will argue that the crash was the reason for the injury. Other factors necessary to cause the collision, like being in a stationary vehicle, are not culpable, and will not affect the jury's decision on the fault.

For psychological injuries However, the connection between an act of negligence and an injured plaintiff's symptoms could be more difficult to establish. The fact that the plaintiff has a an uneasy childhood, a bad relationship with his or her parents, experimented with alcohol and drugs or prior unemployment could have a influence on the severity of the psychological issues she suffers after an accident, however, the courts typically look at these factors as part of the background circumstances that caused the accident in which the plaintiff was triggered, not as a separate reason for the injuries.

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

Damages

The damages plaintiffs can claim in motor vehicle litigation include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages includes any monetary costs that are easily added to calculate an amount, like medical treatment or lost wages, property repair and even future financial losses like a decrease in earning capacity.

New York law recognizes that non-economic damages like pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment, cannot be reduced to cash. The damages must be proven with a large amount of 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 the rules of comparative negligence to determine how much of the damages awarded should be split between them. The jury must determine the amount of fault each defendant has for the incident 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 when it comes to injuries suffered by driver of the vehicles. The resulting analysis of whether the presumption of permissiveness applies is not straightforward and usually only a clear evidence that the owner explicitly denied permission to operate the car will be sufficient to overcome it.