Crowley Motor Vehicle Accident Law Firm Vehicle Litigation

If the liability is challenged, it becomes necessary to bring a lawsuit. The Defendant has the right to respond to the complaint.

New York follows pure comparative fault rules and, in the event that a jury finds you responsible for the crash the amount of damages awarded will be reduced by the percentage of negligence. This rule does not apply to owners of vehicles which are rented out or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant was bound by a duty of care towards them. Nearly everyone owes this obligation to everyone else, however those who are behind the wheel of a fox point motor vehicle accident attorney vehicle have a higher obligation to others in their area of activity. This includes not causing car accidents.

Courtrooms evaluate an individual's behavior with what a normal person would do in similar circumstances to determine a reasonable standard of care. In the event of medical negligence expert witnesses are typically required. Experts with more experience in the field could be held to a greater standard of treatment.

If someone violates their duty of care, they could cause harm to the victim and/or their property. The victim is then required to prove that the defendant's breach of their duty caused the injury and damages that they suffered. Causation is a key element of any negligence claim. It requires proving both the primary and secondary causes of the injuries and damages.

If a driver is caught running the stop sign then they are more likely to be struck by another vehicle. If their car is damaged they'll be accountable for repairs. The real 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 element of negligence that needs to be proven to win compensation in a personal injury lawsuit. A breach of duty is when the actions of the at-fault party fall short of what an ordinary person would do under similar circumstances.

A doctor, for instance is a professional with a range of professional obligations to his patients, which stem from the law of the state and licensing bodies. Motorists are required to show care to other motorists and pedestrians on the road to drive safely and observe traffic laws. If a driver violates this obligation and creates an accident is accountable for the injuries suffered by the victim.

A lawyer can rely on the "reasonable person" standard to establish the existence of an obligation of care. The lawyer must then show that the defendant failed to satisfy the standard through his actions. The jury will determine if the defendant met or did not meet the standard.

The plaintiff must also prove that the defendant's breach was the sole cause of the plaintiff's injuries. This can be more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty or breach. A defendant could have driven through a red light but that's not the cause of your bicycle accident. Because of this, the causation issue is often contested by defendants in collision cases.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases the plaintiff must establish that there is a causal connection between the breach of the defendant and their injuries. If the plaintiff suffered neck injuries in a rear-end accident the attorney for the plaintiff will argue that the incident was the cause of 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 can be difficult to establish a causal connection between a negligent action and the psychological symptoms of the plaintiff. The fact that the plaintiff has a an unhappy childhood, a poor relationship with his or her parents, abused drugs and alcohol or experienced previous unemployment may have some impact on the severity of the psychological problems he or suffers from following an accident, however, the courts typically consider these factors as part of the circumstances that caused the accident in which the plaintiff was triggered, not as a separate cause of the injuries.

It is essential to speak with 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 physicians in many specialties, as well experts in computer simulations as well as reconstruction of accidents.

Damages

In motor vehicle litigation, a person can seek both economic and noneconomic damages. The first category of damages encompasses all monetary costs which can easily be summed up and then calculated into a total, such as medical treatment and lost wages, repairs to property, or even a future financial losses, such as the loss of earning capacity.

New York law also recognizes the right to seek non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering as well as loss of enjoyment, which cannot be reduced to a monetary amount. However, these damages must be proven to exist through extensive evidence, such as deposition testimony from the plaintiff's close family members and friends, medical records, and other expert witness testimony.

In cases where there are multiple defendants, courts will often use comparative fault rules to determine the amount of total damages to be divided between them. The jury must determine the proportion of fault each defendant is responsible for the incident and then divide the total amount of damages awarded by the same percentage. New York law however, does not allow for this. 1602 disqualifies vehicle owners from the rule of comparative negligence in cases where injuries are suffered by drivers of trucks or cars. The process to determine if the presumption of permissiveness is complicated. Typically there is only a clear proof that the owner denied permission to the driver to operate the vehicle will overcome the presumption.