motor vehicle Accident lawyers Vehicle Litigation

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

New York follows pure comparative fault rules, which means that should a jury find you to be the cause of a crash the amount of damages awarded will be reduced by the percentage of negligence. This rule does not apply to the owners of vehicles that are that are leased or rented to minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence lawsuit the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant was obligated to act with reasonable care. Almost everybody owes this duty to everyone else, however those who are behind the steering wheel of a motor vehicle are obligated to the people in their area of activity. This includes not causing motor vehicle accidents.

Courtrooms evaluate an individual's behavior to what a typical person would do under similar conditions to determine an acceptable standard of care. In the event of medical negligence experts are typically required. People who have superior knowledge in a particular field can also be held to the highest standards of care than other people in similar situations.

When someone breaches their duty of care, it can cause harm to the victim and/or their property. The victim has to demonstrate that the defendant's violation of their duty led to the harm and damages they have suffered. The proof of causation is an essential aspect of any negligence case, and it involves taking into consideration both the real cause of the injury or damages as well as the proximate cause of the injury or damage.

For instance, if a person runs a red light and is stopped, they'll be struck by a vehicle. If their car is damaged, they'll be required to pay for repairs. The real cause of the crash could be 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 proved to obtain compensation in a personal injury claim. A breach of duty happens when the actions of the person at fault aren't in line with what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.

For instance, a physician has several professional obligations to his patients, arising from the law of the state and licensing boards. Drivers are required to take care of other drivers as well as pedestrians, and to adhere to traffic laws. Drivers who violate this obligation and causes an accident is responsible for the injuries sustained by the victim.

A lawyer may use the "reasonable persons" standard to establish that there is a duty of care and then show that the defendant did not adhere to this standard in his actions. The jury will determine if the defendant met or did not meet the standards.

The plaintiff must also establish that the breach of duty of the defendant was the proximate cause of his or her injuries. It can be more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. For example, a defendant may have run a red light but the action wasn't the main reason for your bicycle crash. Causation is often contested in case of a crash by the defendants.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff has to establish a causal link between the defendant's breach of duty and his or her injuries. If a plaintiff suffered neck injuries in a rear-end accident the attorney for the plaintiff would argue that the collision was the cause of the injury. Other factors that contributed to the collision, like being in a stationary car is not culpable and will not affect the jury’s determination of the fault.

It may be harder to prove a causal link between a negligent act and the plaintiff's psychological symptoms. It may be the case that the plaintiff has had a difficult background, a strained relationship with their parents, or has used alcohol or drugs.

If you have been in an accident that is serious to your vehicle it is crucial to speak 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 built working relationships with independent doctors in different specialties as well as experts in computer simulations and reconstruction of accidents.

Damages

The damages that plaintiffs can claim in a motor vehicle accident law firms vehicle case include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages covers any monetary costs that can be easily added to calculate an amount, like medical treatment loss of wages, property repair and even future financial losses, like a diminished earning capacity.

New York law recognizes that non-economic damages, such as suffering and pain, as well as loss of enjoyment of living cannot be reduced to financial value. The damages must be proven through extensive evidence like depositions from family members and friends of the plaintiff, medical records, or other expert witness testimony.

In the event of multiple defendants, courts typically use the comparative fault rule to determine the amount of total damages to be divided between them. The jury must determine the amount of fault each defendant was at fault for the accident, and then divide the total damages awarded by the percentage of the fault. However, New York law 1602 specifically excludes owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule with respect to injuries sustained by the driver of the vehicles. The process of determining whether the presumption of permissiveness is complex. Typically there is only a clear proof that the owner refused permission to the driver to operate the vehicle can overrule the presumption.