The Fitch Law Firm

Determining fault in car accidents in Columbus involves examining the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident. It is crucial to establish fault because Ohio is an at-fault state, meaning that the responsible motorist or their insurance company is liable for covering the damages resulting from the accident.

A Columbus car accident attorney can help determine fault for your accident and injuries and pursue the compensation you are entitled to.

What Evidence and Factors Are Used To Determine Fault?
The following are some key factors and evidence that are usually considered when determining fault in a car accident:

-Police Reports
-Police officers who respond to an accident scene will make a report, which often includes their assessment of the accident
-Statements from those involved and witnesses, and any traffic citations that were issued.
Although the police report is a fundamental document, it is not definitive, and insurance companies may perform their own investigations.

Violations of Traffic Laws
Traffic law violations, such as speeding, running a red light, and failing to yield, are often strong indicators of fault. A driver who violates traffic laws may be considered to be responsible for the accident.

Witness Statements
Statements from individuals who witnessed the accident can provide critical information on how the collision occurred. Their accounts can help determine the series of events that occurred and who was at fault.

Photographic and Video Evidence
Photographs or videos taken at the accident scene can serve as important pieces of evidence. They can help document the position of vehicles, road and weather conditions, nearby signage, and other details.

There may also be surveillance cameras in the area that catch the accident on video as it occurs. Some drivers also use dashcams, and these can often provide definitive evidence of exactly what transpired.

Statements From Drivers and Passengers
Law enforcement and other interested parties will usually take into consideration statements made by the motorists and any passengers involved in the accident. However, drivers can also be biased and offer different accounts of what occurred and the role their actions played in the accident.

Furthermore, if a driver makes any admissions of possible responsibility at the scene, it may not be legally binding and may be open to interpretation.

Accident Reconstruction
In complex cases, accident reconstruction experts may be used to recreate the series of events leading to the crash and analyze the evidence. Their expertise can help determine factors such as the drivers’ actions, vehicle speed, and existing road conditions, providing crucial information about the circumstances surrounding the accident.

Insurance Company Investigations
Insurance companies often conduct their own investigations into accidents. They will review the evidence, statements, and documentation to determine if they are liable for damages and the amount they may be responsible for.

Other Considerations When Determining Fault in a Columbus Car Accident
In many cases, determining fault is not straightforward and may be shared between more than one party. Ohio uses the comparative negligence system, meaning that if multiple parties were partially responsible, their financial contribution for damages would be determined based on the percentage of fault assigned to each party.

If you’re involved in a car accident in Columbus, you are strongly advised to seek medical attention, even if you don’t have injuries that are readily apparent. If you do not have a medical record or a health professional’s opinion, it would likely be difficult to show the severity and potential duration of your injuries.

How Is Negligence and Liability Determined in a Columbus Car Accident?
If you retain a lawyer and decide to file a personal injury lawsuit, you must be able to show the other party was negligent and you sustained damages as a result. This requires demonstrating that the following four elements are true in your case:

-Duty of care: You must show that the potentially liable party owed you a legal duty to act with caution to protect others on the road and avoid causing them harm.
-Breach of duty: The other party must have breached their duty by failing to act in the way that a reasonable person would have acted under the same circumstances.
-Causation: The other party’s actions must have directly or proximately caused your injuries. This means that your injuries could not have been due to another factor or pre-existing.
-Damages: You must have suffered damages as a result of the defendant’s negligence. That is, you suffered losses as a result of your accident injuries, such as medical bills, property damage, or pain and suffering.
If you and your attorney can show all four of these elements were present, you may be able to recover compensation from the potentially liable party for your losses.

What Damages Can You Recover in a Car Accident Claim?
You may be entitled to damages for the losses you suffered as a result of your accident. If another party is found liable, they or their insurance company will be responsible for providing you with compensation. Damages commonly include the following:

-Medical expenses, such as emergency medical care, doctor’s visits, hospital bills, prescription drugs, physical therapy, and more
-Lost wages, or the income that you lost as a result of your injury that prevented you from working
-Reduced earning capacity if your injuries have made it challenging or impossible for you to work in the same capacity as before the accident
-Property damage, such as the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle
-Pain and suffering, for the physical pain and emotional anguish you experienced as a result of your accident and injuries
-Loss of enjoyment and quality of life if your injuries make it difficult or impossible for you to engage in the hobbies and activities you used to enjoy
-Loss of consortium if your injury has damaged your relationship with your spouse or partner
-Scarring and disfigurement if your injury left you with long-lasting or permanent scars or other disfigurements

The amount of damages you are entitled to will depend on the severity and potential duration of your injuries, the extent of your losses, and other compensable outcomes of the accident.

For more information, call us for a FREE consultation: 614-545-3930 or visit our website https://www.johnfitch.com/

You should contact a lawyer as soon as possible after your truck accident in Columbus. There are several reasons not to wait before hiring a truck accident attorney. While you must first ensure you are safe and have received the medical attention you need, hiring an attorney may be your next priority. An attorney must investigate your accident as soon as possible, as important evidence may not be available for long after the collision. This is one of the many reasons why you should contact a Columbus truck accident lawyer from our firm soon after your collision.

Why You Should Not Wait to Contact a Columbus Truck Accident Lawyer:
There are several compelling reasons to hire your truck accident lawyer as soon as possible after your collision, including:

-The Need to Gather Accident-Related Evidence
-There can be no delay in gathering evidence from your truck accident, including:

-Evidence that the trucking company may have, including black box data, photographs of the damaged truck, and employment logs
-Video footage showing the accident
-Eyewitness accounts, which may be especially time-sensitive
-The police report documenting your accident
-Photographs of damage to your vehicle

Your attorney may need to file a letter of spoliation to obtain evidence from the trucking company. The sooner your lawyer can file this letter, the more evidence they may be able to secure from the trucking company.

The Need to Protect Your Financial Interests:
It is an unfortunate reality that some parties may not want to pay you as much compensation as you deserve. Your lawyer will protect you from any possible threats to your financial recovery, including:

-Lowball settlement offers from insurers
-Attempts by liable parties to accuse you of causing the accident
-Possible confusion about the details of insurance policies
-The possibility that you would agree to a settlement when you are not in a state to do so.
It is difficult to determine the cost of a truck accident, and that’s where our team comes in. We will determine exactly how much money you deserve so that we may then determine whether any settlement offers you receive are fair.

Your Need to Prioritize Recovery
Your health should come first after your accident. With limited amounts of time, energy, and focus, you may find it immensely difficult to handle both your health needs and your case.

You can allow us to handle your case, which should allow you more time and effort to direct towards recovery.

The Filing Deadline for Any Lawsuit Your Lawyer May Need to File
Depending on how negotiations with insurance companies unfold, your lawyer may need to file a lawsuit on your behalf. Even if your attorney does not ultimately file a lawsuit, the potential to file a suit can be an important negotiating tactic.

Ohio Revised Code Section 2305.10 generally requires that our truck accident lawyers file lawsuits in Columbus within two years of the accident. While two years may seem like a long period, this deadline is yet another reason not to wait to hire an attorney.

What You Risk If You Wait to Hire Your Truck Accident Attorney
Should you choose to wait any significant period of time to hire a truck accident attorney, you risk:

-The loss of evidence that could otherwise have benefitted your case
-Experiencing a rights violation (potentially as serious as accepting a settlement that does not adequately cover the cost of your accident)
-Suffering worsening health issues because you are overstretched by the demands of your case
-The risks of failing to hire a lawyer in a timely manner are potentially physical, psychological, and financial in nature. These risks could be devastating in more ways than one, so don’t wait to contact our team about hiring a Columbus truck accident attorney.

It’s Never Too Late to Hire a Truck Accident Lawyer from Our Firm
You can hire a truck accident lawyer at any point in your post-accident process. Even if you think you have waited longer than you should have to hire a lawyer, it is not too late. We are always available to speak with you, and we can step in to help at virtually any point in the claims process.

What a Truck Accident Attorney Will Do for You (Fight for Your Financial Recovery)
Regardless of when you hire us to take over your truck accident case, you can expect our team to:

-Secure all evidence that will benefit your case
-Detail your accident-related damages with medical records, proof of financial losses, and all other relevant documentation
-Calculate the precise financial cost of your accident-related damages
-Handle settlement negotiations for you
-Draft and file a lawsuit, if necessary
-Proceed to trial if necessary
Our goal is to obtain all of the compensation you deserve as efficiently as possible.

Recoverable Damages Your Lawyer Will Seek Compensation For
Detailing and calculating your damages is an essential responsibility that we’ll handle for you. We will account for both economic and non-economic damages, including:

-Medical expenses
-Cosmetic surgery costs
-Pain and suffering
-Any treatment you seek because of pain and suffering
-Lost income
-Diminished earning power
-Lost bonuses, promotions, and benefits
-Property expenses, including vehicle repair costs and temporary transportation costs

Truck accidents can cause severe and potentially disabling injuries. The force of a large truck striking another vehicle can be devastating, and our firm is prepared to seek compensation for any lifelong loss of income, disability, or other damages you may have.

Contact us now for a FREE consultation: 614-545-3930 or visit our website https://www.johnfitch.com/

When suing in a medical malpractice case, victims can list one or more responsible parties. These can be institutions, such as hospitals or outpatient clinics, or individuals, such as doctors, nurses, or pharmacists.

Determining which parties should be part of the malpractice claim can be difficult. A medical malpractice lawyer can help victims work through the facts in the case and determine which parties behaved negligently.

Studying Your Case to Determine Who to Hold Accountable
Before starting a case or lawsuit, you must determine which medical professional made the error that left you with additional injuries. Proving your medical malpractice losses can be a challenging process.

You must read through and understand medical reports and doctor’s notes, which can be difficult. A lawyer with experience in malpractice cases can decipher the medical-related jargon and determine the at-fault party.

Doctors
When a doctor makes an error that leads to additional injuries for you, the individual doctor can be part of a malpractice claim.

You and your malpractice attorney must show that the doctor’s error was preventable. The doctor could have taken a course of action while treating you that was different from what an average doctor’s treatment plan would have been. This could indicate negligence.

Other Medical Professionals
Doctors are not the only possibly negligent medical professionals. A nurse could have made an error in your treatment. This could include failing to follow a doctor’s orders or giving you incorrect medication.

Medical specialists, such as anesthesiologists, pharmacists, eye doctors, and dentists, could be at fault. The specialist simply needs to make a negligent error in your treatment, resulting in your losses.

Hospital
The hospital itself could be responsible. Ohio Revised Code Section 2305.113 defines a hospital as any person, corporation, association, authority, or entity responsible for the hospital’s operation.

This often means that you could sue the hospital after a clerical error that harmed you. You could include the hospital in your claim when an individual working for the hospital or representing the hospital commits an error.

Other Health Care Facilities
If you seek treatment at an outpatient facility, urgent care facility, or physical therapy clinic, you deserve a standard of care that does not worsen your illness or injury. Should an error occur at one of these places, you could include the business as part of your malpractice claim.

Pharmaceutical Company
A drug manufacturer that causes additional injury or illness for you potentially could be responsible. However, the pharmaceutical company might not be at fault. In this case, the manufacturer must have provided adequate warnings about side effects or unsafe drug interactions to the doctor who prescribed the drug to you.

You Must Show a Relationship to the At-Fault Party
To bring a claim against any party as part of a malpractice case, you must show that you had a relationship with the medical professional in question.

The following does not indicate a relationship:

-If you only speak with a doctor in an informal setting.
-You overhear a doctor give another person medical advice and apply that advice to your own case.
-The doctor or medical entity must be officially treating you.

Understanding What Constitutes Medical Malpractice
Before you can sue someone for medical malpractice, you must prove malpractice occurred. If a medical professional makes an error when treating you, and if this error was preventable, this could fit the definition of medical malpractice.

According to StatPearls, some of the most preventable medical errors can involve:

-Adverse drug events
-Inaccurate drug administration
-Misdiagnosis
-Delayed diagnosis
-Overtreatment
-Undertreatment
-Surgical injuries and mistakes
Should this error lead to additional injuries or illnesses for you, this fits other criteria required in a malpractice case. You cannot seek financial damages for the original illness or injury you sought treatment for. You only can seek damages for the additional health problems you now have.

What Damages Could I Sue for After Suffering Medical Malpractice?
You could recover a settlement or judgment that covers the following losses, depending on the situation:

-Medical bills
-Lost wages
-Reduced earning capacity
-Disfigurement
-Loss of limb
-Wrongful death (if you lost a loved one to malpractice)

For more information and a FREE consultation, call us at 614-545-3930 or visit our website https://www.johnfitch.com/