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Motor Vehicle Litigation If liability is contested and the liability is disputed, it is necessary to bring a lawsuit. The defendant has the right to respond to the complaint. New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that, should a jury find you to be responsible for an accident the amount of damages you will be reduced according to your percentage of fault. There is one exception to this rule: CPLR SS 1602 excludes the owners of vehicles that are rented or leased by minors. Duty of Care In a negligence suit the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant was obligated to exercise reasonable care. Most people owe this duty to everyone else, however those who are behind the wheel of a motor vehicle are obligated to the other drivers in their zone of activity. This includes not causing accidents in motor vehicles. In courtrooms the standard of care is established by comparing an individual's conduct with what a typical person would do in the same circumstances. In the event of medical malpractice experts are typically required. Experts with more experience in a certain field may be held to a higher standard of care. A person's breach of their duty of care may cause injury to a victim or their property. The victim is then required to show that the defendant's infringement of their duty resulted in the harm and damages they suffered. Causation is an essential element of any negligence claim. It involves proving both the actual and proximate causes of the injury and damages. For instance, if someone runs a red light, it's likely that they will be hit by another car. If their car is damaged they'll be responsible for the repairs. The cause of an accident could be a brick cut that develops into an infection. Breach of Duty The second aspect of negligence is the breach of duty by a defendant. The breach of duty must be proved in order to be awarded compensation for personal injury claims. A breach of duty happens when the at-fault party's actions fall short of what an average person would do in similar circumstances. A doctor, for example has many professional duties towards his patients. These obligations stem from laws of the state and licensing bodies. Drivers are obliged to take care of other drivers and pedestrians, and to obey traffic laws. motor vehicle accident lawyer cleveland who violate this obligation and results in an accident is responsible for the victim's injuries. A lawyer can use the “reasonable person” standard to prove the existence of the duty of care and then demonstrate 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 defendant's breach was the main cause of the plaintiff's injuries. This is sometimes more difficult to prove than the existence of a duty and breach. A defendant might have walked through a red light but that's not the cause of your bicycle accident. For this reason, the causation issue is often contested by defendants in crash cases. Causation In motor vehicle cases, the plaintiff must establish a causal link between the defendant's breach of duty and his or her injuries. For example, if the plaintiff sustained an injury to the neck as a result of an accident that involved rear-ends and his or her lawyer will argue that the accident caused the injury. Other factors that are necessary to produce the collision, like being in a stationary car, are not culpable and do not affect the jury's determination of the liability. It could be more difficult to establish a causal relationship between a negligent act and the plaintiff's psychological problems. The fact that the plaintiff had an uneasy childhood, a bad relationship with their parents, was a user of drugs and alcohol or experienced prior unemployment could have a influence on the severity the psychological issues is suffering from following a crash, but the courts typically view these elements as part of the circumstances 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 imperative to speak with a seasoned attorney. Arnold & Clifford LLP attorneys have years of experience in representing clients in motor vehicle accidents as well as business and commercial litigation, as well as personal injury cases. Our lawyers have developed working relationships with independent doctors in various specialties as well as experts in computer simulations and accident reconstruction. Damages The damages that a plaintiff may recover in a motor vehicle lawsuit include both economic and non-economic damages. The first type of damages includes any monetary costs that are easily added up and calculated as a total, for example, medical expenses or lost 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, as well as loss of enjoyment of living cannot be reduced to cash. These damages must be proved by a wide array of evidence, including depositions of family members and friends of the plaintiff medical records, depositions, or other expert witness testimony. In cases involving multiple defendants, Courts will often use the concept of comparative negligence to decide the proportion of damages awarded should be divided between them. The jury has to determine the percentage of blame each defendant carries for the incident and then divide the total amount of damages awarded by the percentage. However, New York law 1602 exempts owners of vehicles from the rule of comparative negligence in the event of injuries sustained by drivers of cars or trucks. The resulting analysis of whether the presumption of permissive use applies is complicated and typically only a clear proof that the owner explicitly did not have permission to operate his car will overcome it.