Sommerking3100
Motor Vehicle Litigation
When a claim for liability is litigated and the liability is disputed, it is necessary to make a complaint. The Defendant will then have the opportunity to respond to the complaint.
New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that should a jury find you to be responsible for an accident, your damages will be reduced based on your percentage of blame. There is one exception to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes owners of vehicles which are rented or leased by minors.
Duty of Care
In a negligence case, the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant had the duty of care toward them. Almost everybody owes this duty to everyone else, however individuals who get behind the steering wheel of a motor vehicle have a higher obligation to others in their area of activity. This includes ensuring that they do not cause accidents in motor vehicles.
Courtrooms compare an individual's actions to what a typical individual would do under similar conditions to determine an acceptable standard of care. In the case of medical malpractice expert witnesses are typically required. Experts with a higher level of expertise in a specific field could be held to the highest standards of care than others in similar situations.
When someone breaches their duty of care, it can cause harm to the victim and/or their property. The victim is then required to establish that the defendant's breach of duty caused the harm and damages they suffered. Causation is a crucial element of any negligence claim. It requires proof of both the actual and proximate causes of the damage and injury.
For instance, if someone runs a red stop sign then it's likely that they'll be struck by another car. If their car is damaged, they will have to pay for the repairs. But motor vehicle accident lawsuit yorba linda of the accident could be a cut or bricks, which later turn into a serious infection.
Breach of Duty
A defendant's breach of duty is the second aspect of negligence that has to be proved to obtain compensation in a personal injury lawsuit. A breach of duty is when the actions of the person who is at fault fall short of what a normal person would do in similar circumstances.
A doctor, for example, has a number of professional duties towards his patients. These professional obligations stem from state law and licensing bodies. Drivers are obliged to take care of other drivers and pedestrians, and to obey traffic laws. Drivers who violate this duty and causes an accident is accountable for the injuries of the victim.
A lawyer can rely on the "reasonable person" standard to prove the existence of an obligation of care. The lawyer must then demonstrate that the defendant did not meet that standard in his actions. It is a matter of fact for the jury to decide if the defendant met the standard or not.
The plaintiff must also establish that the defendant's breach of duty was the primary cause of his or her injuries. This is sometimes more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty or breach. A defendant could have driven through a red light however, that's not the reason for the crash on your bicycle. Because of this, causation is often contested by defendants in collision cases.
Causation
In motor vehicle accidents, the plaintiff must prove an causal link between breach by the defendant and their injuries. For instance, if the plaintiff sustained an injury to the neck as a result of a rear-end collision, his or her lawyer could claim that the collision caused the injury. Other factors that are needed to cause the collision, like being in a stationary car, are not culpable, and do not affect the jury's decision of liability.
It is possible to establish a causal relationship between an act of negligence and the psychological symptoms of the plaintiff. The fact that the plaintiff suffered from a an uneasy childhood, a bad relationship with their parents, used alcohol and drugs, or suffered prior unemployment could have a influence on the severity of the psychological issues suffers from following an accident, however, the courts generally view these factors as an element of the background conditions that caused the accident arose rather than an independent cause of the injuries.
If you've been involved in a serious motor vehicle crash, it is important to consult an experienced attorney. The lawyers at Arnold & Clifford, LLP have years of experience representing clients in personal injury commercial and business litigation, and motor vehicle accident cases. Our lawyers have built working relationships with independent physicians in a variety of specialties as well as experts in computer simulations as well as reconstruction of accidents.
Damages
In motor vehicle litigation, a person can recover both economic and noneconomic damages. The first category of damages encompasses the costs of monetary value that can easily be summed up and then calculated into an overall amount, including medical expenses, lost wages, repairs to property, and even financial loss, like loss of earning capacity.
New York law also recognizes the right to recover non-economic damages like the suffering of others and the loss of enjoyment of life which cannot be reduced to a monetary amount. The proof of these damages is with a large amount of evidence, such as depositions from family members and friends of the plaintiff, medical records, or other expert witness testimony.
In cases where there are multiple defendants, courts typically employ comparative fault rules to determine the amount of damages to be divided between them. The jury must determine the amount of fault each defendant was at fault for the accident, and then divide the total damages awarded by the percentage of blame. New York law however, does not allow this. 1602 excludes vehicle owners from the rule of comparative negligence in cases where injuries are sustained by the drivers of trucks or cars. The subsequent analysis of whether the presumption of permissive use applies is complex and usually only a clear proof that the owner specifically was not granted permission to operate the vehicle will overcome it.
