In our day to day lives, most of us use caution when driving or engaging in other activities to ensure that others are not injured as a result of our own carelessness. Unfortunately, even those who use the utmost care can be injured in accidents as a result of someone else’s negligent conduct. This can be especially frustrating for injured parties who were not responsible for any part of their accident, but who are forced to live with the consequences, which could include painful injuries, job loss, expensive medical bills, and strain in their personal relationships. Injured parties should not have to shoulder this burden alone, so it is important for those who were involved in accidents caused by someone else’s negligence to speak with an experienced Lucas County personal injury attorney who can help them seek compensation for their monetary losses and pain and suffering.
The term “personal injury” is used to describe any type of accident in which another person or entity’s negligent or reckless conduct caused an innocent third party to sustain an injury. While the first type of accident that may come to mind is a car accident, personal injury claims can actually be based on a number of different accidents, including those that involve:
Those whose negligence cause these types of accidents can be held accountable if the injured party files a personal injury claim in court.
Successful plaintiffs who are able to demonstrate that a defendant owed them a duty of care, and breached that duty, which resulted in an accident, are eligible to recover damages compensating them for:
Fortunately, contributing to your own accident does not necessarily bar a person from recovering damages. This is because Ohio is a comparative negligence state, which means that injured parties can still collect compensation for their accident even if they were partially at fault, as long as their own percentage of fault does not exceed the defendant’s.
It’s also important to note that an injured party can only recover damages for the negligent or reckless conduct of someone else, if he or she files a claim before the statutory deadline, which is two years from the date of the accident. In most cases, courts refuse to hear claims that are brought after this date, making it especially important for injured parties to speak with an attorney before this deadline.
If you were injured in an accident through no fault of your own, please contact Lafferty, Gallagher & Scott, LLC at 419-241-5500 to speak with a dedicated and compassionate Lucas County personal injury attorney who can explain your legal options.
All of our partners are AV Peer Review Rated* through Martindale-Hubbell. Out-of-state referrals are welcome for all
areas of practice we handle, including personal injury, workers’ compensation and insurance claims issues.