Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is necessary when liability is in dispute. The defendant then has the opportunity to respond to the complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that if a jury finds you to be responsible for an accident, Motor Vehicle Accident your damages will be reduced based on your percentage of blame. There is an exception to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes owners of vehicles rented or leased by minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence lawsuit the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant owed them a duty to act with reasonable care. This duty is owed to all people, however those who operate a vehicle owe an even higher duty to other drivers in their field. This includes ensuring that they don't cause motor vehicle accidents.

In courtrooms the standard of care is established by comparing an individual's behavior with what a normal person would do under similar conditions. This is why expert witnesses are often required in cases involving medical negligence. Experts with a superior understanding of particular fields may be held to a greater standard of medical care.

A breach of a person's duty of care may cause harm to a victim or their property. The victim is then required to show that the defendant violated their duty and caused the injury or damages they sustained. Proving causation is a critical part of any negligence case and involves taking into consideration both the real cause of the injury or damages, as well as the causal reason for the injury or damage.

For instance, if a person has a red light, it's likely that they'll be hit by another car. If their vehicle is damaged, they will be required to pay for repairs. The cause of a crash could be a brick cut that develops into an infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by the defendant is the second aspect of negligence that has to be proved in order to secure compensation in a personal injury claim. A breach of duty occurs when the actions of a party who is at fault aren't in line with what reasonable people would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for instance, has several professional obligations to his patients based on laws of the state and licensing boards. Drivers are required to take care of other drivers as well as pedestrians, and to respect traffic laws. A driver who breaches this duty and causes an accident is responsible for the victim's injuries.

A lawyer can use the "reasonable person" standard to prove the existence of the duty of care, and then demonstrate that the defendant did not meet the standard in his actions. The jury will decide if the defendant met or did not meet the standards.

The plaintiff must also demonstrate that the breach by the defendant was the main cause of the plaintiff's injuries. This can be more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty and breach. For example the defendant could have crossed a red light, however, the act wasn't the proximate cause of your bike 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 the plaintiff suffered neck injuries in a rear-end collision and his or her attorney will argue that the incident was the cause of the injury. Other factors that contributed to the collision, like being in a stationary vehicle, are not culpable, and will not influence the jury’s determination of the fault.

For psychological injuries, however, the link between an act of negligence and an injured plaintiff's symptoms could be more difficult to establish. It may be because the plaintiff has a troubled past, has a bad relationship with their parents, or has abused alcohol or drugs.

If you've been involved in a serious motor vehicle accident it is essential to consult with an experienced attorney. The attorneys at Arnold & Clifford, LLP, have extensive experience in representing clients in personal injury, commercial and business litigation and motor vehicle accident lawsuit vehicle accident cases. Our lawyers have formed working relationships with independent doctors in many specialties, as well experts in computer simulations and accident reconstruction.

Damages

The damages plaintiffs can seek in motor vehicle litigation include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages covers any monetary costs that can easily be added up and calculated as a sum, such as medical treatment or lost wages, property repairs, and even future financial losses like a decrease in earning capacity.

New York law recognizes that non-economic damages such as suffering and pain, as well as loss of enjoyment of life can't be reduced to money. These damages must be established through extensive evidence like depositions from family members and friends of the plaintiff medical records, as well as other expert witness testimony.

In the event of multiple defendants, courts will often use comparative fault rules to determine the amount of total damages that should be divided between them. The jury must determine the degree of fault each defendant incurred in the accident and then divide the total amount of damages by that percentage of fault. However, New York law 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule with respect to injuries suffered by driver of those cars and Motor Vehicle Accident trucks. The method of determining if the presumption is permissive is complex. The majority of the time, only a clear demonstration that the owner denied permission to the driver to operate the vehicle will overrule the presumption.