Many Buffalo personal injury lawsuits involve multiple issues and can result in very complicated trials. In an effort to avoid juror confusion and possible prejudice, New York State law allows some lawsuits to be “split up” into separate issues that are tried separately.
In personal injury cases, the courts may order a bifurcated trial for the issues of liability and damages. This may occur in cases where presenting these two issues separately assists in clarification or simplification of the issues and allows for a fairer resolution of the lawsuit. Although there have been many different reasons for bifurcating trials, the concern frequently expressed in personal injury lawsuits is that if the plaintiff has suffered severe injuries, the jury’s sympathy for the plaintiff’s plight may cause them to lean towards finding the defendant at fault, even if the evidence does not support this conclusion.
One advantage of a bifurcated trial is that if the defendant is found liable, the parties may be able to reach an agreement on the amount of damages prior to conducting the trial on that portion of the case. As a result, in some cases a lengthy trial may be avoided by splitting the issues up.
While it is permitted for the court to bifurcate a personal injury trial, in many cases the issues of liability and damages cannot be presented separately because the plaintiff’s injuries have an important bearing on the issue of liability or are probative in determining how the accident occurred. In such cases, the issues of liability and damages must be presented together.
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