hondo motor vehicle accident attorney Vehicle Litigation

A lawsuit is necessary when liability is contested. The defendant is entitled to respond to the Complaint.

New York follows pure comparative fault rules and, should a jury find you to be the cause of the accident the damages awarded will be reduced by your percentage of negligence. This rule is not applicable to owners of vehicles rented out or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence, the plaintiff must show that the defendant owed the duty of care toward them. The majority of people owe this obligation to everyone else, however those who sit behind the wheel of a motor vehicle have an even higher duty to the other drivers in their zone of activity. This includes not causing accidents in motor vehicles.

Courtrooms evaluate an individual's behavior with what a normal person would do in the same circumstances to determine what constitutes a reasonable standard of care. Expert witnesses are frequently required when cases involve medical malpractice. Experts with more experience in a certain field may be held to a greater standard of care.

When someone breaches their duty of care, it could cause harm to the victim and/or their property. The victim has to show that the defendant violated their obligation and caused the damage or damages they suffered. Causation is a crucial element of any negligence claim. It involves proving the proximate and real causes of the injuries and damages.

For example, if someone has a red light and is stopped, they will be hit by a vehicle. If their vehicle is damaged, they'll be required to pay for repairs. The real cause of a crash could be caused by a brick cut which develops into an infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by the defendant is the second factor of negligence that must be proved in order to receive compensation in a personal injury suit. A breach of duty happens when the at-fault party's actions aren't in line with what an average person would do in similar circumstances.

A doctor, for example is a professional with a range of professional obligations to his patients. These professional obligations stem from the law of the state and licensing bodies. Motorists owe a duty care to other drivers and pedestrians on the road to drive safely and observe traffic laws. When a driver breaches this duty of care and causes an accident, he is responsible for the injuries sustained by the victim.

A lawyer can rely on the "reasonable person" standard to prove the existence of the duty of care and then prove that the defendant failed to satisfy the standard through his actions. It is a matter of fact that the jury has to decide whether the defendant was in compliance with the standard or not.

The plaintiff must also prove that the breach of duty by the defendant was the primary cause for his or her injuries. This is sometimes more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty and breach. A defendant may have run through a red light but that's not what caused the bicycle accident. Causation is often contested in cases of crash by defendants.

Causation

In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal link between the defendant's breach of duty and their injuries. For instance, if a plaintiff suffered an injury to his neck in a rear-end collision and their lawyer could argue that the collision was the cause of the injury. Other factors that are essential to cause the collision, like being in a stationary vehicle are not culpable and will not affect the jury's determination of liability.

It could be more difficult to establish a causal relationship between a negligent act, and the psychological symptoms of the plaintiff. It may be that the plaintiff has a turbulent past, has a bad relationship with their parents, or has been a user of drugs or alcohol.

It is important to consult an experienced lawyer should you be involved in a serious galion motor vehicle accident Lawyer vehicle accident. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have years of experience in representing clients in motor vehicle accidents cases, business and commercial litigation, and personal injury cases. Our lawyers have formed working relationships with independent physicians in a wide range of specialties and expert witnesses in accident reconstruction and computer simulations, as well as with private investigators.

Damages

The damages that a plaintiff may recover in motor vehicle litigation include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages is any monetary costs that can easily be added up and calculated as an amount, like medical expenses loss of wages, property repair and even future financial losses such as diminished earning capacity.

New York law recognizes that non-economic damages, such as suffering and pain, and loss of enjoyment of life are not able to be reduced to monetary value. These damages must be proved with a large amount of evidence, such as depositions of family members or friends of the plaintiff medical records, depositions, or other expert witness testimony.

In cases that involve multiple defendants, Courts will often use the concept of comparative negligence to decide the proportion of damages awarded should be split between them. This requires the jury to determine the amount of fault each defendant was responsible for the accident and to then divide the total amount of damages by that percentage of fault. However, New York law 1602 does not exempt vehicle owners from the comparative negligence rule in the event of injuries caused by drivers of cars or trucks. The resulting analysis of whether the presumption of permissiveness is applicable is a bit nebulous and usually only a convincing evidence that the owner explicitly did not have permission to operate his car will overcome it.