If you’ve been seriously hurt, you likely have medical bills stacking up. Hiring an experienced Ohio personal injury lawyer can help.
Introduction to Personal Injury
Attorney Kyle Wright can help with your Personal Injury questions.
Hear from experienced personal injury lawyer, Kyle Wright, in the following video:
It can be a frustrating experience when you’re injured because of someone else’s actions, especially when those injuries could have been avoided. If you’ve been seriously hurt, you may have many financial worries along with the stress and pain of your physical recovery.
An experienced personal injury lawyer can help relieve some of those worries by helping you pursue a claim for compensation. Under Ohio law, when you have been injured because of someone else’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional actions, you may have options for getting your bills paid and recovering other types of payment.
An Ohio personal injury attorney can explain what options might be available to you and guide you through the process of pursuing your claim. Good lawyers can thoroughly investigate your accident. They can negotiate with insurance companies and file a lawsuit if necessary. The personal injury lawyers at Kademenos, Wisehart, Hines, Dolyk & Wright Co. LPA will help pursue your claim. We will work diligently to acquire the compensation you deserve so that you can focus on your recovery.
Common Types of Personal Injury Cases
Accidents can take many forms, and so can personal injury claims. Some of the most common types of personal injury cases we see include:
Car Accidents
Car crashes are among the leading causes for personal injury claims. Car accident claims include collisions involving two or more vehicles. They can also include accidents in which a car hits a pedestrian or someone riding a bike.
Trucking Accidents
Accidents with large trucks and tractor-trailers often lead to serious injuries and tragic fatalities. There can also be complicated legal questions in truck accident claims, especially if the truck driver is someone’s employee.
Premises Liability
Premises liability claims stem from accidents on someone’s property caused by dangerous conditions or negligence. Examples of premises liability cases include slip-and-fall accidents, dog bites, or swimming pool injuries.
Dog Bites
An animal attack can range from minor to life-threatening. Dog bites are a common type of personal injury claim because if you expect the owner to take responsibility if you or a loved one are hurt.
Motorcycle Accidents
Because of limited protection and the risk posed by negligent motorists, motorcycle accidents are more likely to cause serious injury or death. They also result in complex personal injury claims with insurers working to reduce their liability.
Medical Malpractice
Because of limited protection and the risk posed by negligent motorists, motorcycle accidents are more likely to cause serious injury or death. They also result in complex personal injury claims with insurers working to reduce their liability.
Boating Accidents
Watercraft accidents in Northern Ohio happen more often than people realize. Common causes of boat accidents include operator inattention and boating under the influence, and can lead to serious injuries and accidental drownings.
Injuries that may become serious include:
- Brain Injuries
- Neck Injuries
- Back Injuries
- Broken Bones
- Burns
- Eye Injuries
- Hearing Loss
- Polytrauma
- Amputations
- Psychological Injuries
- Knee and Shoulder Injuries
- Chest and Adbominal Injuries
If you or a loved one has been hurt in a car accident, truck accident, or an accident on someone’s premises, the personal injury attorneys at Kademenos, Wisehart, Hines, Dolyk & Wright Co. LPA can help. Our lawyers have decades of experience helping injured people get the compensation they deserve in the aftermath of an accident. In addition to motor vehicle accidents, we also help people who have been injured by defective products. Call us for a free consultation to hear your options.
Personal Injury Damages
One of the first questions we hear from people who have been injured in an accident is “How much is my case worth?” That can be a complicated question. Every case has its own unique set of facts and circumstances that will affect the compensation you may be able to receive.
In general, you may be able to receive payment for certain types of costs related to your injuries. Those can include:
- Medical Costs
You may be able to receive compensation for your actual costs of medical treatment. That includes current treatments for your injuries, but also may include future treatments that are linked to your accident. - Lost Wages
You may be able to receive compensation for lost income for the time you are losing or will lose at work because of your injuries. - Pain and Suffering/Mental Anguish
You may be able to receive compensation for your emotional distress or prolonged pain because of your accident. - Loss of Consortium
You may be able to receive compensation for effects on your relationship with your spouse because of your injuries, such as if you are unable to be intimate. - Disfigurement
You may be able to receive compensation for any disfigurement you suffered because of your injuries, such as facial scars. - Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are designed to act as a deterrent. Typically, they are awarded when the negligence or recklessness that caused your injuries is so outrageous that a court determines a punishment is justified. Punitive damages are relatively rare, and in Ohio are capped at twice the value of compensatory damages.
Some factors that may limit the amount of money you can receive as compensation for your injuries may include:
- Insurance Policy Limits
Personal injury cases often involve making claims against insurance policies. In a vehicle accident, that might be another driver’s car insurance policy, or a trucking company’s commercial vehicle policy. In a premises liability case, that might be a business owner’s liability insurance policy, or a homeowner’s insurance policy. Insurance policies have maximum amounts that they pay out per accident or per person injured. These maximum amounts are known as insurance limits, and may act as a ceiling for what you can recover in damages. - Ohio Damages Caps
In Ohio, there are limits in state law for how much you can recover for certain types of damages. When it comes to medical bills or lost wages, known as economic damages, you can recover your actual losses. However, for less concrete damages like pain and suffering or mental anguish, Ohio limits the amount you can recover at $250,000, or three times your economic damages – whichever is greater. However, three times your economic damages can’t exceed $350,000 per person and $500,000 per accident. If you suffered a catastrophic injury, such as a lost limb, you may be able to recover up to $500,000 per person and $1 million per accident in non-economic damages. - Comparative Negligence
If a jury finds that you also were negligent, and your negligence contributed to your injuries, your compensation may be reduced by your percentage of fault. So if a jury decides that you bear 20 percent of the fault for your injuries, an award of $100,000 would be reduced by 20 percent to $80,000. If you are found to bear more than 50 percent of the fault, you would not be compensated. - Prior Injuries
In order to receive compensation, you have to be able to prove that the other person’s negligence caused your injuries. If you already had a herniated disc before your car accident, you likely couldn’t get paid for the cost of back surgery to fix your disc unless the accident made your herniated disc worse. Typically, you can only get compensation for new injuries unless the old injuries have been aggravated.
The bottom line is that no two cases are the same. An insurance company or a jury might consider and weigh a number of different factors when deciding how much compensation you should receive, or what types of damages you are owed. An experienced Ohio personal injury lawyer can explain your options and what you might be able to expect from your claim.
Personal Injury and Wrongful Death
The most common types of damage you may be able to recover through a wrongful death claim can include:
The loss of a loved one due to an accident or injury can be devastating. Not only are you experiencing the overwhelming grief of your loss, but also the stress of dealing with your loved one’s personal and financial affairs.
At Kademenos, Wisehart, Hines, Dolyk & Wright Co. LPA, our wrongful death lawyers understand that a wrongful death claim can add stress during a time when you need to focus on your family. We can help you by handling the details of your claim and working to get the compensation that will help protect your family’s future.
Personal Injury Process
In the tragic circumstance of a death due to negligence or recklessness, an Ohio personal injury lawyer can discuss whether you may be able to pursue a wrongful death claim. Ohio’s wrongful death law allows you to file a lawsuit to recover damages if you are the personal representative of the person who died. Wrongful death compensation must be for the benefit of the person’s surviving spouse, children, parents, or other next of kin.
The most common types of damage you may be able to recover through a wrongful death claim can include:
Accident Investigations
The initial process of collecting evidence of your injuries. Evidence may include medical records and bills, photos, videos, police reports, or witness statements. The investigation process also may include getting an expert to reconstruct your accident to establish how it happened and demonstrate how your injuries were caused.
Personal Injury Lawsuits
If a claim can’t be settled, a lawyer can file a lawsuit on your behalf and argue in a court why you deserve compensation for your injuries.
Mediations or Arbitrations
Sometimes a personal injury claim will be sent to mediation or arbitration instead of the claim being resolved through a settlement or lawsuit. An experienced attorney can be your voice during the mediation or arbitration, and make sure your side of the story is heard so that you get the compensation you deserve.
Settlement Negotiations
A skilled personal injury attorney can negotiate with the insurance company or other parties to get you a fair settlement of your claim.
Insurance Disputes
Insurance companies often dispute the facts of an accident, or claim they’re not responsible to pay for your injuries. A lawyer can help make an argument for why you are owed compensation, and help you with an appeal if your claim has been denied.
