motor vehicle accident lawyers Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is necessary when liability is in dispute. The defendant is entitled 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, your damages will be reduced based on your percentage of blame. 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 case the plaintiff must show that the defendant was obligated to act with reasonable care. This duty is due to all, but those who operate a vehicle have an even greater obligation to others in their field. This includes not causing accidents with Motor Vehicle Accident Attorneys vehicles.

In courtrooms the standard of care is determined by comparing an individual's actions with what a typical person would do under similar situations. In cases of medical malpractice, expert witnesses are usually required. Experts with more experience in the field could be held to a higher standard of care.

A person's breach of their duty of care can cause harm to the victim or their property. The victim must show that the defendant's infringement of their duty caused the injury and damages that they have suffered. Causation is a key element of any negligence claim. It requires proving both the actual and proximate causes of the damage and injury.

If someone is driving through a stop sign then they are more likely to be hit by another vehicle. If their vehicle is damaged, they'll be accountable for the repairs. But the reason for the crash might be a cut in bricks, which later turn into a serious infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by the defendant is the second element of negligence that needs to be proven to win compensation in a personal injury lawsuit. A breach of duty is when the actions taken by the person who is at fault are not in line with what an ordinary person would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for instance, has a variety of professional obligations to his patients based on laws of the state and licensing boards. Motorists owe a duty of care to other motorists and pedestrians on the road to drive in a safe manner and adhere to traffic laws. Any driver who fails to adhere to this obligation and creates 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 prove that the defendant did not meet the standard in his actions. It is a matter of fact that the jury has to decide if the defendant was in compliance with the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach by the defendant was the main cause of the plaintiff's injuries. It can be more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. For example, a defendant may have crossed a red line, but his or her action was not the primary cause of the crash. Causation is often contested in case of a crash by the defendants.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal link between breach by the defendant and their injuries. If the plaintiff sustained a neck injury in an accident with rear-end damage then his or her attorney will argue that the crash was the cause of the injury. Other elements that are required to produce the collision, such as being in a stationary car, are not considered to be culpable and therefore do not affect the jury's determination of liability.

It can be difficult to establish a causal relationship between a negligent act and the psychological symptoms of the plaintiff. The fact that the plaintiff had a troubled childhood, poor relationship with their parents, abused alcohol and drugs or previous unemployment may have some impact on the severity of the psychological issues he or she suffers after an accident, however, the courts generally view these factors as an element of the background conditions that caused the accident in which the plaintiff arose rather than an independent reason for the injuries.

If you have been in an accident involving a motor vehicle accident lawsuits vehicle that was serious It is imperative to consult an experienced attorney. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have extensive experience in representing clients in motor vehicle accidents, commercial and business litigation, and personal injury cases. Our lawyers have formed relationships with independent physicians in a wide range of specialties as well as expert witnesses in accidents reconstruction and computer simulations as well with private investigators.

Damages

In motor vehicle litigation, a plaintiff can get both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages includes any monetary costs that can easily be added to calculate a sum, such as medical treatment loss of wages, property repairs, and even future financial losses, like a diminished earning capacity.

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

In cases that involve multiple defendants, Courts will often use comparative negligence rules to determine the proportion of damages award should be allocated between them. The jury must determine how much responsibility each defendant was responsible for the accident, and then divide the total damages awarded by that percentage of the fault. However, New York law 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule when it comes to injuries sustained by the driver of these vehicles and trucks. The method of determining if the presumption is permissive or not is complex. Typically, only a clear demonstration that the owner did not grant permission to the driver to operate the vehicle will be able to overcome the presumption.