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Motor Vehicle Litigation A lawsuit is required when liability is contested. 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 the crash, your damages award will be reduced by your percentage of negligence. There is one exception to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes owners of vehicles hired or leased by 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 due to all people, however those who operate vehicles owe an even higher duty to other drivers in their field. This includes ensuring that they do not cause accidents with motor vehicles. In courtrooms the standards of care are determined by comparing an individual's conduct with what a typical person would do in the same conditions. 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 medical care. If someone violates their duty of care, it can cause damage to the victim as well as their property. The victim must then show that the defendant's infringement of their duty resulted in the injury and damages that they sustained. Proving causation is a critical part of any negligence case and involves considering both the actual causes of the injury damages, as well as the causal cause of the injury or damage. If someone is driving through a stop sign it is likely that they will be struck by a vehicle. If their vehicle is damaged, they will be responsible for the repairs. The reason for the crash could be a brick cut that causes an infection. Breach of Duty A defendant's breach of duty is the second element of negligence that needs to be proved in order to receive compensation in a personal injury claim. A breach of duty occurs when the actions of the person at fault do not match what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances. A doctor, for example has many professional obligations towards his patients. These 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 be safe and follow traffic laws. Any driver who fails to adhere to this obligation and causes an accident is accountable for the injuries sustained by the victim. A lawyer may use the “reasonable persons” standard to prove that there is a duty of care and then show that the defendant did not comply with this standard in his actions. The jury will decide if the defendant fulfilled or did not meet the standard. The plaintiff must also prove that the breach of duty of the defendant was the proximate cause of his or her injuries. This can be more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty or breach. For motor vehicle accident attorneys temecula could have been a motorist who ran a red light, but the action was not the sole cause of your bike crash. Because of this, the causation issue is often contested by the defendants in cases of crash. Causation In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff has to establish a causal connection between the defendant's breach of duty and the injuries. If a plaintiff suffered neck injuries as a result of an accident that involved rear-end collisions the attorney for the plaintiff would argue that the accident was the cause of the injury. Other elements that could have caused the collision, like being in a stationary vehicle, are not culpable, and will not influence the jury's decision to determine the fault. For psychological injuries However, the connection between an act of negligence and an victim's afflictions may be more difficult to establish. The fact that the plaintiff had an uneasy childhood, a bad relationship with their parents, used alcohol and drugs or previous unemployment may have some influence on the severity of the psychological problems he or suffers from following an accident, but courts typically view these elements as part of the circumstances from which the plaintiff's accident occurred, rather than as an independent reason for the injuries. It is important to consult an experienced attorney when you've been involved in a serious motor vehicle accident. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have extensive experience in representing clients in motor vehicle accident commercial and business litigation, and personal injury cases. Our lawyers have built working relationships with independent physicians in many specialties as well as expert witnesses in computer simulations and reconstruction of accident. Damages The damages that a plaintiff may recover in motor vehicle litigation include both economic and non-economic damages. The first category of damages encompasses all financial costs that can easily be added up and summed up into a total, such as medical expenses or lost wages, repair to property, or even a future financial loss, like loss of earning capacity. New York law also recognizes the right to recover non-economic damages like pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment, which cannot be reduced to a monetary amount. These damages must be proved through extensive evidence like depositions of family members and friends of the plaintiff medical records, depositions, or other expert witness testimony. In the event of multiple defendants, courts will often use comparative fault rules to determine the amount of damages to be divided between them. The jury has to determine the percentage of fault each defendant is responsible for the accident and then divide the total damages awarded by that percentage. However, New York law 1602 does not exempt vehicle owners from the rule of comparative negligence in cases where injuries are sustained by the drivers of cars or trucks. The analysis to determine whether the presumption is permissive is complex. In general there is only a clear proof that the owner denied permission to the driver to operate the vehicle can be sufficient to overturn the presumption.