Then You’ve Found Your Motor Vehicle Legal … Now What?

Motor Vehicle Litigation

If the liability is challenged then it is necessary to file a lawsuit. The defendant then has the chance to respond to the complaint.

New York follows pure comparative fault rules, which means that if the jury finds you to be the cause of a crash the damages awarded to you will be reduced by your percentage of negligence. This rule is not applicable to owners of vehicles rented out or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence case the plaintiff must show that the defendant owed them a duty to act with reasonable care. This duty is due to everyone, but people who drive a vehicle owe an even greater obligation to other drivers in their field. This includes ensuring that they do not cause accidents in windcrest motor vehicle accident attorney vehicles.

Courtrooms evaluate an individual’s behavior with what a normal person would do under the same circumstances to establish what is reasonable standards of care. In the case of medical malpractice, vimeo.com expert witnesses are usually required. People who have superior knowledge in a specific field could be held to an even higher standard of care than other people in similar situations.

A person’s breach of their duty of care could cause harm to a victim or their property. The victim has to demonstrate that the defendant did not fulfill their duty and caused the harm or damages they suffered. Causation is a crucial element of any negligence claim. It requires proof of both the proximate and real causes of the injuries and damages.

If a driver is caught running the stop sign, they are likely to be hit by a car. If their car is damaged, they will be responsible for the repairs. However, the real cause of the crash might be a cut on bricks, which later turn into a serious infection.

Breach of Duty

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

A doctor, for example has many professional obligations towards his patients that are derived from laws of the state and licensing bodies. Drivers are obliged to protect other motorists and pedestrians, and follow traffic laws. If a driver fails to comply with this obligation of care and creates an accident, he is liable for the injuries sustained by the victim.

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 comply with the standard in his actions. It is a matter of fact for the jury to decide whether the defendant complied with the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also establish that the breach of duty of the defendant was the main cause of the injuries. It can be more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. A defendant could have driven through a red light but that wasn’t what caused the crash on your bicycle. In this way, causation is frequently disputed by the defendants in case of a crash.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff has to establish a causal connection between the defendant’s breach of duty and the injuries. For instance, if the plaintiff suffered a neck injury from a rear-end collision, his or her lawyer could argue that the collision was the cause of the injury. Other factors that are needed to produce the collision, such as being in a stationary vehicle are not culpable, and do not affect the jury’s decision of the liability.

For psychological injuries However, the connection between a negligent act and the injured plaintiff’s symptoms could be more difficult to establish. It may be the case that the plaintiff has a troubled past, has a difficult relationship with their parents, or has abused drugs or alcohol.

If you have been in an accident involving a motor vehicle that was serious it is crucial to speak with an experienced attorney. The attorneys at Arnold & Clifford, LLP, have extensive experience in representing clients in personal injury as well as commercial and business litigation and motor vehicle accident cases. Our lawyers have established working relationships with independent physicians in a range of specialties including expert witnesses in accident reconstruction and computer simulations as well with private investigators.

Damages

The damages that a plaintiff can recover in motor vehicle litigation can include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages includes any monetary costs that are easily added to calculate a total, for example, medical expenses and lost wages, property repair and even future financial losses like a decrease in earning capacity.

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

In cases where there are multiple defendants, courts typically apply the rules of comparative fault to determine the amount of damages that should be divided between them. The jury must decide the amount of fault each defendant carries for the incident and then divide the total damages awarded by the percentage. New York law however, does not allow for this. 1602 does not exempt vehicle owners from the comparative negligence rule in cases where injuries are caused by drivers of cars or trucks. The analysis to determine whether the presumption is permissive is complicated. In general the only way to prove that the owner was not able to grant permission to the driver to operate the vehicle can be sufficient to overturn the presumption.