Motor Vehicle Litigation

If the liability is challenged and the liability is disputed, it is necessary to file a lawsuit. The Defendant has the right to respond to the complaint.

New York follows pure comparative fault rules, which means that should a jury find you to be at fault for causing a crash the damages awarded to you will be reduced by your percentage of negligence. This rule does not apply to the owners of vehicles that are rented out or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a negligence case, the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant owed a duty of care towards them. This duty is owed by everyone, but those who operate vehicles owe an even greater obligation to other people in their field. This includes not causing accidents with oak brook motor vehicle accident lawyer vehicles.

Courtrooms assess an individual's actions with what a normal person would do under similar circumstances to determine what constitutes a reasonable standard of care. This is why expert witnesses are often required when cases involve medical malpractice. Experts who have a superior understanding in a particular field may be held to an higher standard of care than other individuals in similar situations.

If a person violates their duty of care, it could cause damage to the victim as well as their property. The victim has to show that the defendant's infringement of their duty led to the injury and damages that they suffered. Proving causation is a critical part of any negligence case and involves investigating both the primary basis of the injury or damages and the proximate reason for the injury or damage.

If someone is driving through an intersection, they are likely to be hit by another vehicle. If their car is damaged, they will need to pay for repairs. The real cause of a crash could be a brick cut which develops into an infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by a defendant is the second factor of negligence that must be proven to win compensation in a personal injury case. A breach of duty is when the actions taken by the at-fault party are insufficient to what a normal person would do in similar circumstances.

For instance, a doctor has many professional obligations to his patients, which stem from the law of the state and licensing authorities. Drivers have a duty to care for other drivers and pedestrians, as well as to obey traffic laws. When a driver breaches this duty of care and results in an accident, the driver is accountable for the injury suffered by the victim.

A lawyer can use the "reasonable person" standard to establish the existence of a duty of care and then show that the defendant did not meet that standard in his actions. The jury will decide if the defendant complied with or did not meet the standards.

The plaintiff must also prove 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. A defendant might have walked through a red light, but that's not the cause of the crash on your bicycle. For this reason, the causation issue is often contested by defendants in collision cases.

Causation

In kingsport motor vehicle accident law firm vehicle-related cases, the plaintiff must prove that there is a causal connection between the breach of the defendant and their injuries. If a plaintiff suffers an injury to the neck in an accident with rear-end damage, his or her attorney would argue that the accident caused the injury. Other factors that are necessary to cause the collision, such as being in a stationary car, are not culpable, and won't affect the jury's decision on the fault.

For psychological injuries However, the connection between a negligent act and the affected plaintiff's symptoms can be more difficult to establish. It may be because the plaintiff has a rocky background, a strained relationship with their parents, or has abused alcohol or drugs.

It is imperative to consult an experienced lawyer when you've been involved in a serious accident. The lawyers at Arnold & Clifford, LLP have years of experience representing clients in personal injury cases, business and commercial litigation, and motor vehicle accident cases. Our lawyers have established working relationships with independent medical professionals in a range of specialties as well as expert witnesses in accidents reconstruction and computer simulations, and with private investigators.

Damages

In motor vehicle litigation, a plaintiff could be able to recover both economic and noneconomic damages. The first type of damages covers all financial costs that can easily be added up and calculated as a total, such as medical expenses and lost wages, repairs to property, or even a future financial loss, like a diminished earning capacity.

New York law also recognizes the right to seek non-economic damages, including 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 by a wide array of evidence, including depositions of family members or friends of the plaintiff medical records, as well as other expert witness testimony.

In cases where there are multiple defendants, Courts will often use comparative negligence rules to determine the percentage of damages awarded should be divided between them. This requires the jury to determine how much responsibility each defendant was responsible for the accident and then divide the total damages award by that percentage of fault. However, New York law 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule when it comes to injuries sustained by drivers of those cars and trucks. The subsequent analysis of whether the presumption of permissive use applies is not straightforward and typically only a convincing evidence that the owner specifically denied permission to operate the vehicle will overcome it.