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Motor Vehicle Litigation
A lawsuit is necessary when liability is in dispute. motor vehicle accident lawyer riverside will then be given the chance to respond to the complaint.
New York follows pure comparative fault rules, which means that should a jury find you to be the cause of the crash the damages awarded to you will be reduced by the percentage of negligence. There is a caveat to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes owners of vehicles hired or leased by minors.
Duty of Care
In a negligence case, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed them a duty to exercise reasonable care. Most people owe this duty to everyone else, however those who take the driving wheel of a motorized vehicle have a higher obligation to others in their area of activity. This includes ensuring that they don't cause accidents with motor vehicles.
In courtrooms, the quality of care is determined by comparing the actions of an individual to what a normal person would do under similar circumstances. Expert witnesses are often required in cases of medical malpractice. Experts with a higher level of expertise in a specific field could be held to a higher standard of care than other people in similar situations.
A breach of a person's duty of care could cause harm to a victim or their property. The victim then has to prove that the defendant acted in breach of their duty of care and caused the injury or damage that they suffered. Proving causation is an essential aspect of any negligence claim, and it involves looking at both the actual causes of the injury damages and the proximate cause of the injury or damage.
For instance, if someone has a red light then it's likely that they'll be hit by a vehicle. If their vehicle is damaged, they'll need to pay for repairs. The cause of an accident could be a brick cut that develops into an infection.
Breach of Duty
A defendant's breach of duty is the second element of negligence that needs to be proved to obtain compensation in a personal injury case. A breach of duty occurs when the at-fault party's actions are not in line with what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.
A doctor, for example has a variety of professional duties towards his patients. These obligations stem from state law and licensing bodies. Motorists owe a duty care to other drivers and pedestrians to drive in a safe manner and adhere to traffic laws. A driver who breaches this obligation and results in an accident is responsible for the injuries suffered by the victim.
Lawyers can rely on the "reasonable person" standard to establish the existence of a duty of care and then prove that the defendant failed to meet that standard in his actions. The jury will determine if the defendant met or did not meet the standard.
The plaintiff must also prove that the breach of duty of the defendant was the primary cause for his or her injuries. This can be more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty or breach. For example the defendant could have been a motorist who ran a red light, but the action wasn't the main cause of your bicycle crash. Causation is often contested in crash cases by defendants.
Causation
In motor vehicle-related cases, the plaintiff must establish that there is a causal connection between the breach of the defendant and the injuries. If the plaintiff sustained a neck injury in a rear-end collision and his or her attorney will argue that the crash was the cause of the injury. Other factors that are necessary to produce the collision, like being in a stationary vehicle are not culpable and will not affect the jury's determination of liability.
It is possible to prove a causal link between a negligent act and the psychological symptoms of the plaintiff. The fact that the plaintiff had troubles in his or her childhood, had a difficult relationship with their parents, experimented with alcohol and drugs or previous unemployment may have some bearing on the severity of the psychological issues is suffering from following an accident, but courts typically consider these factors as an element of the background conditions that led to the accident from which the plaintiff's injury resulted rather than 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 accident. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have years of experience representing clients in motor vehicle accidents cases, business and commercial litigation, and personal injury cases. Our lawyers have developed working relationships with independent doctors in a variety of specialties, as well experts in computer simulations as well as reconstruction of accidents.
Damages
The damages that a plaintiff may recover in a motor vehicle lawsuit include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages includes any monetary costs that are easily added to calculate the sum of medical treatment or lost wages, property repairs, and even future financial losses like diminished earning capacity.
New York law also recognizes the right to seek non-economic damages like pain and suffering as well as loss of enjoyment of life, which cannot be reduced to a monetary amount. However, these damages must be proved to exist using extensive evidence, such as deposition testimony from the plaintiff's close family members and friends medical records, deposition testimony, and other expert witness testimony.
In cases where there are multiple defendants, courts will typically employ comparative fault rules to determine the amount of damages to be split between them. The jury must determine the percentage of fault each defendant has for the incident, and divide the total amount of damages awarded by the percentage. New York law however, does not allow 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 method of determining if the presumption is permissive is complicated. Most of the time the only way to prove that the owner did not grant permission for the driver to operate the vehicle can overcome the presumption.