Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is required when liability is in dispute. The defendant has the right 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 the amount of damages you will be reduced based on your percentage of fault. This rule does not apply to owners of vehicles which are rented out or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence case the plaintiff must show that the defendant was obligated to exercise reasonable care. This duty is due to all, but those who operate a vehicle have an even greater duty to other people in their field. This includes ensuring that they do not cause accidents in motor vehicles.

In courtrooms the quality of care is determined by comparing an individual’s conduct with what a normal person would do under similar situations. In the event of medical malpractice experts are typically required. Experts who have a greater understanding of the field could be held to a greater standard of treatment.

A breach of a person’s duty of care can cause harm to the victim or their property. The victim has to show that the defendant’s infringement of their duty led to the harm and damages they suffered. Proving causation is an essential part of any negligence case, and it involves taking into consideration both the real reason for the injury or damages, as well as the causal reason for the injury or damage.

For instance, if someone runs a red light and is stopped, they’ll be hit by a car. If their car is damaged they will be responsible for repairs. The real cause of a crash could be a brick cut which develops into an infection.

Breach of Duty

The second aspect of negligence is the breach of duty by the defendant. It must be proven in order to be awarded compensation for a personal injury claim. A breach of duty is when the actions of the person who is at fault are insufficient to what an ordinary person would do in similar circumstances.

For instance, a doctor has a variety of professional obligations to his patients. These professional obligations stem from state law and licensing bodies. Drivers are obliged to protect other motorists and pedestrians, and adhere to traffic laws. A driver who breaches this obligation and results in an accident is responsible for the injuries sustained by the victim.

A lawyer can use the “reasonable person” standard to prove the existence of an obligation of care. The lawyer must then demonstrate that the defendant did not meet that standard in his actions. The jury will decide if the defendant met or did not meet the standards.

The plaintiff must also demonstrate that the defendant’s negligence was the main cause of the plaintiff’s 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 bicycle accident. For this reason, the causation issue is often contested by defendants in crash cases.

Causation

In motor vehicle case vehicle cases, the plaintiff must prove an causal link between defendant’s breach and their injuries. For example, if the plaintiff sustained a neck injury from a rear-end collision, his or her lawyer would claim that the collision caused the injury. Other factors that are needed to produce the collision, such as being in a stationary car, are not culpable and do not affect the jury’s decision of the liability.

It can be difficult to establish a causal connection between a negligent act and the psychological issues of the plaintiff. It may be that the plaintiff has a turbulent past, has a difficult relationship with their parents, or is a user of drugs or alcohol.

If you’ve been involved in an accident involving a motor vehicle attorney vehicle that was serious it is essential to speak with a seasoned attorney. The lawyers at Arnold & Clifford, LLP, have extensive experience in representing clients in personal injury cases, business and commercial litigation, and motor vehicle compensation vehicle crash cases. Our lawyers have established working relationships with independent physicians in a wide range of specialties and expert witnesses in accident reconstruction and computer simulations, as well as with private investigators.

Damages

The damages that plaintiffs can claim in a motor vehicle lawsuit include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages comprises any financial costs that can be easily added up and calculated as an amount, like medical treatment loss of wages, property repair, and even future financial losses like a diminished earning capacity.

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

In cases where there are multiple defendants, courts often use comparative fault rules to determine the amount of damages that should be divided between them. The jury will determine the percentage of fault each defendant carries for motor vehicle lawsuit the incident, and divide the total damages awarded by the same percentage. New York law however, doesn’t allow this. 1602 excludes vehicle owners from the rule of comparative negligence in cases where injuries are sustained by the drivers of trucks or cars. The resulting analysis of whether the presumption of permissiveness applies is complex and usually only a clear proof that the owner explicitly refused permission to operate the car will overcome it.