It can be easy for Buffalo personal injury attorneys to forget that sometimes their non-lawyer clients don’t know what they’re talking about. While most people would know what the word “presumption” means in normal conversation, it also has a specific legal meaning. Many clients would not be aware of this legal definition when the term is used in their case.
In legal terms, a presumption of law has been defined as a rule of law which requires that a particular inference must be drawn from a certain set of facts. Once this certain set of facts has been established at trial, following the inference is mandatory unless the other party submits sufficient evidence to the contrary.
As an example, suppose a person is injured in an automobile accident, and the driver who caused the injury did not own the vehicle he or she was driving. Under New York State law, once it is established who owned the other automobile, there is a presumption that the driver was operating the vehicle with that owner’s permission at the time of the accident.
As a result, the owner bears liability for the negligent actions of the driver by law. If the driver was not using the vehicle with the owner’s permission, the owner must present sufficient evidence to prove lack of permission if he or she is to overcome the presumption and avoid liability.
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