Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is necessary in cases where liability is challenged. 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 according to your percentage of fault. This rule does not apply to the owners of vehicles that are that are rented or leased out to minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence case, the plaintiff must show that the defendant owed a duty of care towards them. Nearly everyone owes this obligation to everyone else, but those who take the wheel of a brighton motor vehicle accident lawyer vehicle have an even higher duty to other people in their field of operation. This includes ensuring that they do not cause car accidents.

Courtrooms evaluate an individual's behavior to what a typical individual would do under similar conditions to determine a reasonable standard of care. This is why expert witnesses are often required in cases involving medical negligence. People with superior knowledge in particular fields may be held to a higher standard of medical care.

A breach of a person's obligation of care can cause harm to the victim or their property. The victim then has to prove that the defendant acted in breach of their duty of care and caused the injury or damages they suffered. Causation proof is a crucial element in any negligence case and requires investigating both the primary basis of the injury or damages as well as the proximate reason for the damage or injury.

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

Breach of Duty

A defendant's breach of duty is the second element of negligence that must be proven to win compensation in a personal injury lawsuit. A breach of duty is when the actions of the person at fault do not match what a normal person would do under similar circumstances.

A doctor, for example is a professional with a range of professional obligations to his patients. These obligations stem from the law of the state and licensing authorities. Motorists have a duty of care to other drivers and pedestrians to be safe and follow traffic laws. Any driver who fails to adhere to this obligation and vimeo causes an accident is accountable for the injuries sustained by the victim.

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

The plaintiff must also establish that the defendant's breach of duty was the main cause of the injuries. It is more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. For instance an individual defendant could have run a red light but the action was not the primary cause of your bike crash. In this way, causation is frequently disputed by the defendants in cases of crash.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases the plaintiff must prove a causal link between the breach by the defendant and their injuries. For instance, if the plaintiff suffered an injury to his neck in a rear-end collision and his or her lawyer will claim that the collision caused the injury. Other elements that are required to cause the collision, such as being in a stationary car, are not culpable and will not affect the jury's decision of the liability.

It could be more difficult to establish a causal link between a negligent act, and the plaintiff's psychological problems. It could be because the plaintiff has a troubled past, a poor relationship with their parents, or has used drugs or alcohol.

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

Damages

In motor vehicle litigation, a plaintiff can seek both economic and noneconomic damages. The first type of damages includes any monetary expenses that can be easily added to calculate a total, for example, medical expenses or lost wages, property repairs, and even future financial losses, like diminished earning capacity.

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

In cases involving multiple defendants, Courts will often use rules of comparative negligence to determine how much of the total damages awarded should be split between them. The jury must decide the percentage of fault each defendant is responsible for the incident and then divide the total amount of damages awarded by the same percentage. New York law however, does not allow for this. 1602 does not exempt vehicle owners from the rule of comparative negligence in the event of injuries sustained by drivers of cars or trucks. The analysis to determine whether the presumption of permissiveness is complicated. The majority of the time the only way to prove that the owner refused permission for the driver to operate the vehicle will overrule the presumption.