Motor Vehicle Litigation

When a claim for motor Vehicle Accidents liability is litigated, it becomes necessary to start a lawsuit. The defendant has the option to respond to the Complaint.

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

Duty of Care

In a negligence suit the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant owed them a duty to exercise reasonable care. The majority of people owe this obligation to everyone else, but those who sit behind the driving wheel of a motorized vehicle have an even higher duty to other people in their field of activity. This includes ensuring that they don't cause motor vehicle accidents.

In courtrooms, the standard of care is determined by comparing an individual's conduct with what a typical person would do under similar circumstances. In the event of medical negligence expert witnesses are typically required. Experts with a superior understanding of particular fields may be held to a higher standard of care.

A person's breach of their duty of care could cause harm to a victim, or their property. The victim has to establish that the defendant's breach of their duty caused the damage and injury they sustained. Causation is an important part of any negligence claim. It involves proving both the primary and secondary causes of the injuries and damages.

If someone runs a stop sign then they are more likely to be hit by another vehicle. If their car is damaged they'll be responsible for repairs. But the reason for the crash might be a cut in a brick that later develops into a serious infection.

Breach of Duty

The second aspect of negligence is the breach of duty committed by an individual defendant. The breach of duty must be proved in order to receive compensation for personal injury claims. A breach of duty is when the actions taken by the person at fault do not match what a normal person would do under similar circumstances.

For example, a doctor has several professional duties to his patients, arising from the law of the state and licensing boards. Motorists have a duty of care to other drivers and pedestrians to drive safely and observe traffic laws. Any driver who fails to adhere to this duty and results in an accident is responsible for Motor vehicle accidents the injuries suffered by the victim.

A lawyer may use the "reasonable individuals" standard to establish that there is a duty to be cautious and then prove that the defendant failed to meet the standard in his actions. It is a question of fact that the jury has to decide if the defendant fulfilled the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also establish that the defendant's breach of duty was the main cause of his or her injuries. This can be more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty and breach. For example, a defendant may have crossed a red line, but the action was not the sole cause of the crash. In this way, causation is often contested by defendants in collision cases.

Causation

In motor vehicle accidents vehicle cases, the plaintiff has to establish a causal link between the defendant's breach of duty and their injuries. If a plaintiff suffered a neck injury in a rear-end accident the attorney for the plaintiff would argue that the accident was the cause of the injury. Other factors that are needed to produce the collision, like being in a stationary car, are not culpable, and do not affect the jury's determination of the liability.

It can be difficult to establish a causal connection between an act of negligence and the plaintiff's psychological symptoms. It could be the case that the plaintiff has a rocky past, has a bad relationship with their parents, or has abused drugs or alcohol.

It is imperative to consult an experienced attorney in the event that you've been involved in a serious accident. The lawyers at Arnold & Clifford, LLP have years of experience representing clients in personal injury commercial and business litigation and motor vehicle accident lawyers vehicle accident cases. Our lawyers have formed working relationships with independent doctors in various specialties as well as experts in computer simulations as well as reconstruction of accidents.

Damages

The damages that a plaintiff can recover in a motor vehicle lawsuit include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages is any monetary costs that are easily added to calculate a total, for example, medical treatment or lost wages, property repair 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 living can't be reduced to money. However these damages must be established to exist with the help of extensive evidence, such as deposition testimony from the plaintiff's family members and close friends, medical records, and other expert witness testimony.

In the event of multiple defendants, courts often use comparative fault rules to determine the amount of damages that should be divided between them. This requires the jury to determine the degree of fault each defendant had for the accident, and then divide the total amount of damages 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 drivers of the vehicles. The subsequent analysis of whether the presumption of permissiveness applies is complicated and typically only a clear proof that the owner has explicitly denied permission to operate the vehicle will overcome it.