Motor Vehicle Litigation

If the liability is challenged then it is necessary to make a complaint. 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 that you were at fault for an accident the damages you incur will be reduced according to your percentage of blame. There is a caveat to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes the owners of vehicles that are which are rented or leased by minors.

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence, the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant owed the duty of care toward them. This duty is owed to everyone, but people who drive a vehicle owe an even higher duty to other people in their field. This includes not causing accidents in Motor vehicle accident law Firms vehicles.

In courtrooms, the standards of care are determined by comparing the actions of an individual to what a normal person would do under similar conditions. Expert witnesses are frequently required when cases involve medical malpractice. Experts with a higher level of expertise in a particular field can be held to an higher standard of care than other people in similar situations.

If a person violates their duty of care, it can cause injury to the victim or their property. The victim has to prove that the defendant breached their duty and caused the harm or damages they sustained. Causation is an essential element of any negligence claim. It involves proving the proximate and real causes of the damages and injuries.

For instance, if someone runs a red light, it's likely that they'll be struck by a car. If their car is damaged they'll be accountable for the repairs. The cause of the crash could be a brick cut which develops into an infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by the defendant is the second aspect of negligence that has to be proven to win compensation in a personal injury case. A breach of duty occurs when the actions of the person at fault aren't in line with what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for instance has many professional duties towards his patients, which stem from the law of the state and licensing authorities. Motorists owe a duty of care to other motorists and pedestrians on the road to drive safely and observe traffic laws. Any driver who fails to adhere to this obligation and causes an accident is accountable for the victim's injuries.

Lawyers can rely on the "reasonable person" standard to prove the existence of the duty of care and then show that the defendant failed to satisfy the standard through his actions. The jury will decide if the defendant complied with or motor vehicle accident law Firms did not meet the standards.

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach of duty of the defendant was the primary cause of his or her 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 crash on your bicycle. For this reason, causation is frequently disputed by defendants in crash cases.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal connection between the defendant's breach of duty and their injuries. If a plaintiff suffered neck injuries as a result of a rear-end collision then his or her attorney will argue that the crash was the reason for the injury. Other factors that are essential to cause the collision, like being in a stationary car, are not culpable, and do not affect the jury's decision of liability.

It is possible to establish a causal relationship between an act of negligence and the plaintiff's psychological problems. The fact that the plaintiff has a a troubled childhood, poor relationship with their parents, was a user of drugs and alcohol or experienced prior unemployment could have a influence on the severity of the psychological issues he or she suffers after an accident, but courts typically consider these factors as part of the context that caused the accident in which the plaintiff occurred, rather than as an independent cause of the injuries.

It is important to consult an experienced lawyer if you have been involved in a serious accident. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have extensive experience in representing clients in motor vehicle accident cases, business and commercial litigation, as well as personal injury cases. Our lawyers have built working relationships with independent physicians in various areas of expertise as well as experts in computer simulations and reconstruction of accidents.

Damages

The damages plaintiffs can claim in a motor vehicle accident attorneys vehicle lawsuit include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages comprises any financial expenses that can be easily added up and calculated as a sum, such as medical expenses loss of wages, property repair, and even future financial losses like a decrease in earning capacity.

New York law also recognizes the right to seek non-economic damages such as pain and suffering as well as loss of enjoyment of life which cannot be reduced to a dollar amount. However the damages must be proven to exist by a variety of evidence, including deposition testimony of the plaintiff's family members and Motor vehicle Accident law firms close friends medical records, other expert witness testimony.

In the event of multiple defendants, courts will often use comparative fault rules to determine the amount of damages to be split between them. The jury has to determine the amount of fault each defendant is accountable for the incident and then divide the total damages awarded by that percentage. New York law however, does not allow this. 1602 specifically excludes owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule with respect to injuries sustained by drivers of the vehicles. The process of determining whether the presumption is permissive is complex. Typically the only way to prove that the owner was not able to grant permission for the driver to operate the vehicle can be sufficient to overturn the presumption.