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motor vehicle accident attorneys Vehicle Litigation

If liability is contested in court, it becomes necessary to start a lawsuit. The defendant then has the opportunity to respond to the complaint.

New York follows pure comparative fault rules and, if the jury finds you to be the cause of an accident, your damages award will be reduced by your percentage of negligence. There is an exception to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes the owners of vehicles that are hired or leased by minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence suit the plaintiff must show that the defendant owed them a duty to act with reasonable care. This duty is owed by everyone, but those who drive a vehicle owe an even higher duty to other people in their field. This includes ensuring that they do not cause accidents in motor vehicles.

In courtrooms the standard of care is determined by comparing an individual's conduct against what a normal individual would do in the same circumstances. In the event of medical negligence expert witnesses are typically required. Experts with a superior understanding of the field could be held to a greater standard of care.

When someone breaches their duty of care, they could cause damage to the victim as well as their property. The victim must then demonstrate that the defendant's violation of duty caused the damage and injury they suffered. Proving causation is a critical part of any negligence case and requires looking at both the actual reason for the injury or damages as well as the proximate reason for the injury or damage.

For instance, if someone has a red light there is a good chance that they'll be struck by a car. If their car is damaged, they will be responsible for the repairs. The actual cause of a crash could be a fracture in the brick that leads to an infection.

Breach of Duty

The second element of negligence is the breach of duty by a defendant. This must be proven in order to obtain compensation in a personal injury case. A breach of duty happens when the at-fault party's actions aren't in line with what an average person would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for example has a variety of professional duties towards his patients, which stem from the law of the state and licensing authorities. Drivers are required to protect other motorists and pedestrians, as well as to respect traffic laws. Drivers who violate this duty and creates an accident is accountable for the injuries suffered by the victim.

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

The plaintiff must also prove that the defendant's breach of duty was the primary cause of the injuries. It is more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. A defendant could have run through a red light but that's not the cause of the accident on your bicycle. Because of this, causation is often challenged by defendants in collision cases.

Causation

In Motor Vehicle Accident Law Firm vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal connection between the defendant's breach of duty and their injuries. For instance, if a plaintiff sustained a neck injury from an accident that involved rear-ends and his or her lawyer will argue that the accident caused the injury. Other factors that are necessary in causing the collision such as being in a stationary car, are not culpable and do not affect the jury's determination of the liability.

For psychological injuries, however, the link between a negligent act and an injured plaintiff's symptoms could be more difficult to establish. It may be the case that the plaintiff has had a difficult background, a strained relationship with their parents, or has been a user of alcohol or drugs.

It is imperative to consult an experienced lawyer if you have 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 crash cases. Our lawyers have established working relationships with independent medical professionals in a wide range of specialties and expert witnesses in accident reconstruction and computer simulations as well as with private investigators.

Damages

The damages that a plaintiff can recover in motor vehicle accident lawsuit vehicle litigation can include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages covers all costs that are easily added together and summed up into a total, for example, medical expenses or lost wages, repair to property, and even financial losses, such as diminished earning capacity.

New York law also recognizes the right to seek non-economic damages, including pain and suffering as well as loss of enjoyment of life, which cannot be reduced to a dollar amount. These damages must be proved through extensive evidence such as depositions of family members and friends of the plaintiff medical records, as well as other expert witness testimony.

In cases where there are multiple defendants, Courts will often use comparative negligence rules to determine how much of the total damages awarded should be split between them. The jury must determine the degree of fault each defendant was at fault for the accident and then divide the total amount of damages by the percentage of blame. New York law however, does not allow for this. 1602 specifically excludes owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule in relation to injuries sustained by drivers of those cars and trucks. The process to determine if the presumption is permissive is complicated. Typically it is only a clear evidence that the owner refused permission to the driver to operate the vehicle can be able to overcome the presumption.