Mesa motor vehicle accident law firm Vehicle Litigation

When liability is contested and the liability is disputed, it is necessary to bring a lawsuit. The defendant has the option to respond to the complaint.

New York has a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that, when a jury finds you to be at fault for an accident, your damages will be reduced based on your percentage of blame. This rule does not apply to the owners of vehicles that are rented out or leased to minors.

Duty of Care

In a case of negligence, the plaintiff must show that the defendant was bound by the duty of care towards them. Most people owe this duty to everyone else, but individuals who get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle have an even higher duty to others in their area of operation. This includes ensuring that they don't cause accidents in motor vehicles.

Courtrooms examine an individual's conduct to what a typical individual would do under similar circumstances to establish what is a reasonable standard of care. In the event of medical negligence experts are often required. Experts who have a greater understanding of particular fields may be held to a greater standard of medical care.

A person's breach of their obligation of care can cause harm to a victim or their property. The victim then has to prove that the defendant acted in breach of their obligation and caused the damage or damages they suffered. Proving causation is a critical part of any negligence case and requires taking into consideration both the real basis of the injury or damages and the proximate reason for the injury or damage.

For example, if someone has a red light, it's likely that they'll be hit by a car. If their vehicle is damaged, they'll be responsible for the repairs. The cause of an accident could be a fracture in the brick that leads to an infection.

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty by the defendant is the second element of negligence that must be proved in order to receive compensation in a personal injury case. A breach of duty occurs when the actions of a party who is at fault are not in line with what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.

For instance, a doctor has many professional duties towards his patients, which stem from state law and licensing bodies. Motorists are required to show care to other drivers and pedestrians on the road to drive safely and obey traffic laws. When a driver breaches this duty of care and causes an accident, he is accountable for mesa motor Vehicle accident law Firm the injuries suffered by the victim.

A lawyer may use the "reasonable person" standard to establish the existence of an obligation of care. The lawyer must then show that the defendant did not comply with the standard in his actions. The jury will decide if the defendant complied with or did not meet the standards.

The plaintiff must also establish that the defendant's breach of duty was the primary cause of the injuries. This is sometimes 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 the crash on your bicycle. For this reason, causation is often challenged by defendants in crash cases.

Causation

In motor vehicle-related cases, the plaintiff must establish that there is a causal connection between the breach of the defendant and the injuries. For instance, if the plaintiff suffered a neck injury from an accident that involved rear-ends, his or her lawyer might argue that the accident caused the injury. Other factors that contributed to the collision, like being in a stationary vehicle are not considered to be culpable and will not influence the jury's decision on fault.

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

It is imperative to consult an experienced attorney when you've been involved in a serious las cruces motor vehicle accident lawyer accident. The lawyers at Arnold & Clifford, LLP, have extensive experience in representing clients in personal injury as well as commercial and business litigation, and motor vehicle accident attorney vehicle accident cases. Our lawyers have developed working relationships with independent physicians with a variety of specialties, expert witnesses in accident reconstruction and computer simulations, and 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 covers any monetary costs that can be easily added to calculate a sum, such as medical treatment loss of wages, property repair and even future financial losses like diminished 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 of life, which cannot be reduced to a dollar amount. However these damages must be established to exist with the help of extensive evidence, including deposition testimony of the plaintiff's close family members and friends medical records, other expert witness testimony.

In cases involving multiple defendants, Courts will often use comparative negligence rules to determine the percentage of damages awarded should be divided between them. The jury must determine how much fault each defendant had for the accident, and then divide the total damages awarded by the percentage of blame. However, New York law 1602 specifically exempts owners of vehicles from the comparative fault rule when it comes to injuries suffered by driver of the vehicles. The subsequent analysis of whether the presumption of permissive use applies is complex and typically only a clear evidence that the owner has explicitly refused permission to operate the vehicle will overcome it.