A Motor Vehicle Legal Success Story You'll Never Be Able To Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is necessary when the liability is being contested. The defendant will then be given the chance to respond to the complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that in the event that a jury determines you to be at fault for an accident and you are found to be at fault, your damages will be reduced according to your percentage of blame. This rule is not applicable to owners of vehicles rented out or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed the duty of care toward them. The majority of people owe this obligation to everyone else, but those who sit behind the wheel of a motor vehicle have an even higher duty to the people in their area of activity. This includes ensuring that they don't cause car accidents.

In courtrooms the standard of care is determined by comparing the actions of an individual with what a typical person would do under similar circumstances. This is why expert witnesses are frequently required in cases involving medical malpractice. Experts with a higher level of expertise of a specific area may also be held to an higher standard of care than others in similar situations.

If a person violates their duty of care, it may cause harm to the victim and/or their property. The victim must then demonstrate that the defendant's violation of their duty resulted in the injury and damages that they have suffered. Causation is a crucial element of any negligence claim. It involves proving both the primary and secondary causes of the damage and injury.

If a person is stopped at an intersection it is likely that they will be hit by another vehicle. If their car is damaged they'll be accountable for the repairs. The actual cause of a crash could be caused by a brick cut that develops into an infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by a defendant is the second factor of negligence that must be proved to obtain compensation in a personal injury suit. A breach of duty occurs when the at-fault party's actions are not in line with what reasonable people would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for instance, has a number of professional obligations towards his patients that are derived from the law of the state and licensing authorities. Drivers have a duty to protect other motorists and pedestrians, and to follow traffic laws. When a driver breaches this duty of care and results in an accident, he is accountable 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 demonstrate that the defendant did not comply with the standard in his actions. The jury will decide if the defendant fulfilled or did not meet the standards.


The plaintiff must also establish that the defendant's breach of duty was the main cause of the injuries. It is more difficult to prove this than a breach of duty. For example it is possible that a defendant been a motorist who ran a red light, however, the act wasn't the main reason for your bicycle crash. In this way, causation is often challenged by the defendants in cases of crash.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases the plaintiff must prove a causal link between breach of the defendant and their injuries. For instance, if the plaintiff sustained a neck injury from a rear-end collision the lawyer would claim that the collision caused the injury. Other elements that could have caused the collision, such as being in a stationary vehicle, are not culpable, and will not influence the jury’s determination of the cause of the accident.

For psychological injuries, however, the link between a negligent act and an affected plaintiff's symptoms can be more difficult to establish. It may be that the plaintiff has a troubled past, has a difficult relationship with their parents, or is a user of drugs or alcohol.

If you've been involved in a serious motor vehicle crash It is imperative to consult with an experienced attorney. motor vehicle accident attorneys fort myers at Arnold & Clifford, LLP, have extensive experience in representing clients in personal injury cases, business and commercial litigation, as well as motor vehicle accident cases. Our lawyers have formed working relationships with independent physicians across a variety of specialties including expert witnesses in accident reconstruction and computer simulations as well as with private investigators.

Damages

In motor vehicle litigation, a plaintiff may recover both economic and noneconomic damages. The first type of damages covers all financial costs that are easily added together and calculated as a total, such as medical treatment, lost wages, repairs to property, and even future financial losses, such as loss of earning capacity.

New York law recognizes that non-economic damages, such as suffering and pain, and loss of enjoyment of living are not able to be reduced to financial value. The proof of these damages is through extensive evidence like depositions of family members or friends of the plaintiff, medical records, or other expert witness testimony.

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