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15 Reasons To Not Ignore Motor Vehicle Legal
Motor Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is necessary when liability is in dispute. The defendant will then be given the opportunity to respond to the complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that, in the event that a jury determines that you were at fault for an accident, your damages will be reduced according to your percentage of blame. There is a slight exception to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes owners of vehicles that are rented or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed a duty of care towards them. This duty is owed to all, but those who operate a vehicle owe an even greater duty to others in their field. This includes not causing motor vehicle accidents.

Courtrooms compare an individual's actions with what a normal person would do in similar conditions to determine an acceptable standard of care. Expert witnesses are frequently required in cases involving medical negligence. People who have superior knowledge in a particular field can be held to an higher standard of care than other individuals in similar situations.

A person's breach of their duty of care can cause harm to a victim, or their property. The victim is then required to prove that the defendant breached their duty of care and caused the injury or damage that they suffered. Causation is a key element of any negligence claim. It requires proof of both the proximate and actual causes of the injuries and damages.

For instance, if a driver runs a red stop sign and is stopped, they will be hit by a vehicle. If their vehicle is damaged, they'll be responsible for repairs. The cause of a crash could be caused by a brick cut that causes an infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by the defendant is the second factor of negligence that must be proved to obtain compensation in a personal injury claim. A breach of duty is when the actions taken by the person at fault fall short of what a normal person would do under similar circumstances.

For instance, a doctor has several professional obligations to his patients stemming from the law of the state and licensing boards. Motorists owe a duty care to other drivers and pedestrians on the road to be safe and follow traffic laws. If a driver violates this obligation and results in an accident is responsible for the victim's injuries.

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

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach of duty of the defendant was the proximate 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. This is why the causation issue is often contested by the defendants in cases of crash.

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In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish an causal link between defendant's breach and their injuries. If a plaintiff suffered neck injuries in a rear-end collision then his or her attorney will argue that the crash was the cause of the injury. Other elements that are required in causing the collision like being in a stationary vehicle, are not culpable, and do not affect the jury's decision of the liability.

For psychological injuries, however, the link between negligence and the affected plaintiff's symptoms can be more difficult to establish. The fact that the plaintiff had an unhappy childhood, a poor relationship with his or her parents, experimented with alcohol and drugs or previous unemployment may have some influence on the severity the psychological issues is suffering from following an accident, however, the courts typically look at these factors as an element of the background conditions that caused the accident arose rather than an independent cause of the injuries.

If you have been in a serious motor vehicle crash it is essential to speak with an experienced attorney. The lawyers 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 established relationships with independent physicians in a wide range of specialties as well as expert witnesses in accidents reconstruction and computer simulations as well with private investigators.

Damages


In motor vehicle litigation, a plaintiff may seek both economic and noneconomic damages. The first category of damages encompasses all monetary costs which are easily added together and then calculated into the total amount, which includes medical expenses as well as lost wages, repairs to property, and even financial loss, for instance 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, which cannot be reduced to a monetary amount. The proof of these damages is through extensive evidence such as depositions of family members and friends of the plaintiff medical records, depositions, or other expert witness testimony.

In cases where there are multiple defendants, Courts will often use rules of comparative negligence to determine the percentage of damages awarded should be divided between them. The jury has to determine the percentage of fault each defendant has for the incident, and divide the total amount of damages awarded by that percentage. New York law however, does not permit this. 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule when it comes to injuries suffered by driver of the vehicles. The process to determine if the presumption is permissive or not is complex. Typically there is only a clear proof that the owner was not able to grant permission for the driver to operate the vehicle can overcome the presumption.

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