Ohio Car Accident Recovery Scheme

Ohio is one of the majority of states that has retained the
traditional "tort" or "at fault" basis for recovery for automobile
accident victims. Ohio does have minimum insurance coverage
requirements. As of the writing of this article every car owner must
have $12,500.00 coverage for bodily injury per person up to a total of
$25,000.00 per accident. Additionally every car owner must have at
least $7500.00 property damage coverage. These are the minimum
insurance requirements. The minimum amounts of insurance coverage are
not enough to cover the damages for many automobile accident injuries.
To protect themselves from being under insured in the case of a car
accident many people carry much more than these minimum amounts of
insurance.

As stated earlier, the right to sue for damages resulting from
automobile accidents in Ohio is based on the tort system. A "tort" is
a civil wrong. In car accidents the most common tort relied upon is
negligence. If you suffer personal injuries in an accident as a result
of the negligence of another you can recover any damages that
reasonably flow from that accident. Those damages can include
compensation for pain and suffering, loss of earnings or earning
capacity and medical and other out of pocket expenses.

This means that determining who is at fault for an automobile accident
will determine if you can recover damages for the injuries you
suffered as a result of the accident. Given that a car accident occurs
in the United States every ten seconds it is not surprising that car
accidents are the most common type of personal injury litigation. For
this reason it is important that you know your legal rights if you are
injured in an automobile accident.

While blame for an accident often is fairly straight forward there are
also many accidents where fault is not so clear. Often fault for an
accident will be split between the drivers and is not totally one
driver's fault. It is also important to know that "fault" or
"negligence" is a legal issue based on the facts. It is also common
that two drivers involved in the same accident have differing opinions
as to what happened.

In addition to these types of car accidents there are also many
situations where someone who is not even in a car involved in the car
accident is negligent and responsible for damages. Faulty repairs by
car mechanics that cause an accident can create liability on the
mechanic and/or his employer. A tavern might be liable for damages if
a car accident is caused by a drunk driver that was over served in
that tavern. This does not mean the drunk driver is not liable. He or
she will still be responsible for the car accident and the damages.
The liability for the car accident of the tavern is in addition to,
and not in lieu of, the legal responsibility of the drunk driver.
These are just two examples of people not directly involved in an
automobile accident that could be responsible for that car accident.

Determining who is at fault and in what proportion is only the first
step in car accident litigation in Ohio. The next step is a
determination of what damages (ie how much money) are payable as a
result of the accident. As stated earlier these damages include pain
and suffering, income losses and medical expenses. It is only the
damages that reasonably flow, or were reasonably caused by the
accident that can be recovered. Often there are serious issues raised
by the defendants as to whether the specific damages being claimed
were in fact caused by the accident. Frequently, for example, the
defendant will allege that the injured person can earn income despite
their injuries. The defendant might also allege that the injured
person does not need all the medical treatment that the injured
person's doctor recommends. In some circumstances the defendant will
even allege that the injured person has recovered from their injuries
and is only faking disability for the purpose of the law suit.

As can be seen from the above, although the basic tort law governing
car accidents in Ohio seems straight forward each accident is unique
and each victim's problems are also unique. If you have been injured
in a car accident in Ohio, an experienced and qualified car accident
lawyer can help ensure that you receive all the damages that you are
entitled to. Because there are time restrictions within which
automobile accident law suits must be started seeking legal advice as
soon as practical after the car accident is wise.

**This article is not intended to provide legal advice. It is
recommended that you consult your lawyer for advice concerning your
particular case.*

Christine Murray
Injury Alliance
http://injuryalliance.com/Ohio%20Car%20Accident%20recovery%20Scheme.html

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