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Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is required when the liability is being contested. The defendant then has the opportunity to respond to the complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that, should a jury find that you were at fault for an accident the damages you incur will be reduced based on your percentage of fault. This rule is not applicable to owners of vehicles that are leased or rented to minors.

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence the plaintiff must show that the defendant was bound by a duty of care towards them. The majority of people owe this obligation to everyone else, however those who take the wheel of a motor vehicle have a greater obligation to the people in their area of activity. This includes not causing accidents with motor vehicles.

Courtrooms evaluate an individual's behavior to what a typical individual would do under similar conditions to determine an acceptable standard of care. In the case of medical malpractice experts are often required. Experts with a higher level of expertise of a specific area may also be held to the highest standards of care than other people in similar situations.

A person's breach of their duty of care could cause harm to the victim or their property. The victim must establish that the defendant's breach of their duty caused the damage and injury they sustained. Causation is a crucial element of any negligence claim. It requires proving both the proximate and actual causes of the injury and damages.

If a driver is caught running a stop sign it is likely that they will be hit by a car. If their vehicle is damaged, they'll be responsible for the repairs. However, the real cause of the crash could be a cut on a brick that later develops into a dangerous infection.

Breach of Duty

The second element of negligence is the breach of duty by the defendant. It must be proven in order to receive compensation in a personal injury case. motor vehicle accident lawyer carmel of duty occurs when the actions of a party who is at fault are not in line with what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.

For instance, a doctor has several professional duties to his patients based on state law and licensing boards. Motorists owe a duty of care to other motorists and pedestrians to drive safely and observe traffic laws. If a driver fails to comply with this obligation of care and results in an accident, he is responsible for the injury suffered by the victim.

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

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach by the defendant was the direct cause of the plaintiff's injuries. This can be more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty and breach. For instance an individual defendant could have been a motorist who ran a red light, however, the act was not the sole cause of the crash. For this reason, causation is frequently disputed by the defendants in case of a crash.





Causation

In motor vehicle accidents, the plaintiff must prove a causal link between the breach of the defendant and their injuries. For instance, if a plaintiff sustained neck injuries as a result of a rear-end collision, his or her lawyer could argue that the accident caused the injury. Other factors necessary to cause the collision, such as being in a stationary vehicle are not considered to be culpable and will not affect the jury’s determination of the degree of fault.

It can be difficult to establish a causal link between a negligent act and the plaintiff's psychological problems. The fact that the plaintiff had an unhappy childhood, a poor relationship with their parents, experimented with alcohol and drugs or had previous unemployment may have some bearing on the severity of the psychological problems he or is suffering from following an accident, but courts typically look at these factors as part of the context from which the plaintiff's accident occurred, rather than as an independent cause of the injuries.

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

Damages

The damages that a plaintiff can recover in motor vehicle litigation include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages covers all financial costs that can easily be summed up and calculated into an overall amount, including medical expenses and lost wages, repairs to property, and even financial losses, such as diminished earning capacity.

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

In cases where there are multiple defendants, Courts will often use the concept of comparative negligence to decide how much of the damages awarded should be split between them. The jury must determine the percentage of fault each defendant is accountable for the incident, and divide the total damages awarded by the same percentage. However, New York law 1602 disqualifies vehicle owners from the rule of comparative negligence in the event of injuries sustained by drivers of trucks or cars. The analysis to determine whether the presumption is permissive or not is complicated. Most of the time the only way to prove that the owner refused permission for the driver to operate the vehicle will be sufficient to overturn the presumption.