motor vehicle lawsuit Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is necessary when liability is contested. The Defendant has the right to respond to the complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that when a jury finds you to be at fault for an accident the amount of damages you will be reduced based on your percentage of blame. There is a slight exception to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes the owners of vehicles that are rented or leased by minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence case the plaintiff must show that the defendant was obligated to exercise reasonable care. Almost everybody owes this duty to everyone else, however those who sit behind the car have a greater obligation to others in their area of operation. This includes not causing accidents in motor vehicle attorney vehicles.

Courtrooms compare an individual's actions with what a normal person would do under similar circumstances to establish what is a reasonable standard of care. Expert witnesses are frequently required when cases involve medical malpractice. Experts with a superior understanding of the field could be held to a higher standard of medical care.

A person's breach of their duty of care may cause injury to a victim or their property. The victim is then required to prove that the defendant acted in breach of their duty and caused the harm or damage they sustained. Causation is an important part of any negligence claim. It involves proving the primary and secondary causes of the damage and injury.

For instance, if a person has a red light and is stopped, they'll be struck by a car. If their car is damaged they'll be accountable for the repairs. However, the real cause of the crash could be a cut from the brick, which then develops into a dangerous infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by the defendant is the second element of negligence that needs to be proved in order to secure compensation in a personal injury lawsuit. A breach of duty occurs when the actions of the person at fault are not in line with what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for instance is a professional with a range of professional obligations towards his patients, which stem from the law of the state and licensing bodies. Drivers are bound to be considerate of other drivers as well as pedestrians, and to obey traffic laws. Any driver who fails to adhere to this duty and creates an accident 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 show that the defendant did not meet the standard in his actions. It is a matter of fact for the jury to decide if the defendant met the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also establish that the breach of duty by the defendant was the proximate cause of his or her injuries. It can be more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. A defendant could have driven through a red light, but that's not the cause of your bicycle accident. In this way, causation is frequently disputed by the defendants in case of a crash.

Causation

In motor vehicle legal vehicle cases the plaintiff must establish that there is a causal connection between the breach of the defendant and their injuries. If the plaintiff suffered neck injuries as a result of a rear-end collision then his or her attorney will argue that the incident was the cause of the injury. Other factors that contributed to the collision, Motor Vehicle Case like being in a stationary car is not culpable and will not impact the jury's decision to determine the degree of fault.

For psychological injuries However, the connection between a negligent act and the injured plaintiff's symptoms could be more difficult to establish. It could be because the plaintiff has a troubled past, a poor relationship with their parents, or has been a user of drugs or alcohol.

It is imperative to consult an experienced lawyer when you've been involved in a serious accident. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have years of experience in representing clients in motor vehicle legal vehicle accidents cases, business and commercial litigation, and personal injury cases. Our lawyers have established relationships with independent physicians in a wide range of specialties and expert witnesses in accident reconstruction and computer simulations as well with private investigators.

Damages

The damages plaintiffs can seek in a motor vehicle case include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages includes any monetary expenses that can be easily added up and calculated as a total, for example, medical expenses and lost wages, property repair and even future financial losses such as diminished earning capacity.

New York law also recognizes the right to recover non-economic damages like the suffering of others and the loss of enjoyment of life which cannot be reduced to a monetary amount. The proof of these damages is through extensive evidence such as depositions of family members and friends of the plaintiff medical records, as well as other expert witness testimony.

In cases where there are multiple defendants, Courts will often use the rules of comparative negligence to determine the percentage of damages awarded should be split between them. The jury must determine the amount of fault each defendant was responsible for the accident and then divide the total amount of damages by that percentage of the fault. However, New York law 1602 excludes vehicle owners from the comparative negligence rule in cases where injuries are suffered by drivers of trucks or cars. The analysis to determine whether the presumption of permissiveness is complicated. The majority of the time it is only a clear evidence that the owner denied permission for the driver to operate the vehicle can be able to overcome the presumption.