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 follows pure comparative fault rules, which means that if the jury finds you responsible for a crash the amount of damages awarded will be reduced by the percentage of negligence. This rule does not apply to the owners of vehicles that are that are rented or leased out to minors.
Duty of Care
In a negligence case, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant was bound by the duty of care towards them. This duty is owed to everyone, but people who operate a vehicle have an even greater duty to other people in their field. This includes ensuring that there are no accidents in motor vehicles.
In courtrooms the quality of care is determined by comparing an individual's actions with what a typical person would do under similar situations. Expert witnesses are often required in cases involving medical negligence. Experts with a higher level of expertise in a specific field could also be held to a higher standard of care than other individuals in similar situations.
A breach of a person's duty of care can cause harm to a victim or their property. The victim is then required to prove that the defendant acted in breach of their duty and caused the injury or damages they sustained. Causation is an important part of any negligence claim. It involves proving both the actual and proximate causes of the injuries and damages.
For instance, if someone has a red light and is stopped, they'll be hit by a vehicle. If their car is damaged, they'll be responsible for the repairs. The actual cause of a crash could be caused by a brick cut that develops into an infection.
Breach of Duty
The second element of negligence is the breach of duty committed by a defendant. This must be proven in order to be awarded compensation for a personal injury claim. A breach of duty is when the actions taken by the at-fault party fall short of what a normal person would do in similar circumstances.
For motor vehicle accident law firm oklahoma city , a doctor has several professional duties to his patients, arising from state law and licensing boards. Motorists owe a duty care to other motorists and pedestrians on the road to drive in a safe manner and adhere to traffic laws. If a motorist violates this duty of care and results in an accident, the driver is liable for the injuries suffered by the victim.
Lawyers can rely on the "reasonable person" standard to establish the existence of the duty of care and then prove that the defendant failed to meet that standard in his actions. It is a matter of fact for the jury to decide whether the defendant was in compliance with the standard or not.
The plaintiff must also demonstrate that the breach of duty by the defendant was the main cause of the plaintiff's injuries. This is sometimes more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty or breach. A defendant might have walked through a red light but that wasn't what caused the accident on your bicycle. Causation is often contested in crash cases by defendants.
Causation
In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal link between the defendant's breach of duty and the injuries. If the plaintiff sustained neck injuries in an accident that involved rear-end collisions, his or her attorney would argue that the accident was the cause of the injury. Other elements that could have caused the collision, like being in a stationary car are not culpable and will not impact the jury’s determination of the cause of the accident.
It could be more difficult to prove a causal link between a negligent action and the plaintiff's psychological problems. It may be that the plaintiff has had a difficult background, a strained relationship with their parents, or has used alcohol or drugs.
It is imperative to consult an experienced lawyer when you've been involved in a serious motor accident. The lawyers at Arnold & Clifford, LLP, have extensive experience in representing clients in personal injury, commercial and business litigation, and motor vehicle accident cases. Our lawyers have established working relationships with independent doctors in various specialties as well as expert witnesses in computer simulations as well as reconstruction of accidents.
Damages
In motor vehicle litigation, a plaintiff could be able to recover both economic and noneconomic damages. The first type of damages includes any monetary costs that are easily added to calculate a sum, such as medical expenses, lost wages, property repair and even future financial losses, like a diminished earning capacity.
New York law recognizes that non-economic damages like suffering and pain, and loss of enjoyment of life cannot be reduced to monetary value. The damages must be proven through extensive evidence such as depositions of family members or 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 how much of the damages awarded should be split between them. The jury must decide the proportion of fault each defendant is accountable for the accident and then divide the total amount of damages awarded by the same percentage. New York law however, does not allow for this. 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule in relation to injuries suffered by driver of these trucks and cars. The subsequent analysis of whether the presumption of permissiveness applies is complex, and typically only a convincing evidence that the owner was explicitly was not granted permission to operate the vehicle will overcome it.