Roadway Design

Negligent motorists, transportation companies, auto repair shops, and auto manufacturers may be held liable for injuries and deaths on Ohio roadways.  In many cases, an injured plaintiff can recover rightful compensation under Ohio Law for property damages, medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

In recent years, The Lyon Firm has obtained large settlements in personal injury and wrongful death car accident cases on behalf of families and victims. The Lyon Firm accepts cases and represents plaintiffs nationwide

The Lyon Firm is dedicated to protecting Ohio motorists and passengers and works to make America’s roads safer in the future by holding negligent drivers, trucking companies and highway maintenance crews accountable.

If you decide to file a lawsuit following a car accident in Cincinnati, an Ohio lawyer can assist you navigate the following process:

Filing a complaint: Victims and attorneys determine fault and name the specific defendants, or the parties being sued, which can include individual negligent drivers, transport companies, municipalities, car manufacturers, or construction companies.

An Ohio attorney can help you describe the reasons for the lawsuit in a legal format and document filed in court. Defendants will then be served with copies of the complaint. After defendants are served by the plaintiff, the defendants are required to provide a response to the original complaint in writing, which they will state their defenses to the filed injury claim.

Discovery: There are different elements in the discovery process, including depositions, interrogatories, and requests for certain documents. Attorneys will question parties and witnesses under oath in depositions.

Interrogatories are requests for written answers to questions. Document requests in a car accident lawsuit will likely seek medical records and police records, and any other document that supports or disputes the claim.

Settlement or trial period: most Cincinnati car accident lawsuits are settled out of court, which is a possibility at all stages of litigation, up to and including during the trial.

Following a serious car accident, victims should contact an experienced Cincinnati auto accidents lawyer to investigate Ohio traffic violations. Plaintiffs involved in a car accident due to traffic violations are urged to seek legal counsel and heed the advice of an experienced auto accidents lawyer who have experience in properly litigating cases.

Collecting evidence like photos and witness testimony can be extremely helpful to your case, though other behaviors can be very detrimental to a case. If you plan to file a car accident claim, it is important that you refrain from the following before, during and after legal proceedings:

• Do not lie to police, investigators, insurance companies or attorneys
• Do not make any mistakes on your No Fault forms
• Do not openly talk about your case
• Do not post anything on Facebook, Twitter or other social media outlets
• Do not sign your rights away
• Do not wait too long—there are statutes of limitations
• Do not dispose of any evidence—protect photos and statements
• Speak to an attorney before any insurance agents

Compensation includes incurred medical expenses, pain and suffering, and wrongful death damages related to the loss of their loved one.

There are numerous factors that impact the amount of a car accident settlement. Determining factors for a Cincinnati negligent roadway design lawyer include:

•  The extent to which you were at fault—you can be compensated for a car accident even if you were partially at fault, however, assuming partial fault will cause a reduction in compensation.
  •    Personal Medical Expenses—car accident victims can be compensated for a range of medical expenses, including surgery, ambulance costs, physical therapy, hospitalization, and necessary medical equipment like crutches or wheelchairs.
  •    Severity and Permanence of an Injury—victims may receive significantly more compensation if you suffered a long-term or permanently disabling injury and are unable to earn income as a result.  Settlements factor in not only the costs already incurred, but also future costs and losses.
  •    Type of Treatment Received—Insurance companies will only reimburse medical expenses deemed reasonable and necessary.  It’s a common tactic for insurers to say that specific treatments fall outside of this description.

Following any auto accident in Ohio it is crucial to preserve all the evidence of the crash, including witness testimony and photographs of the road and vehicles involved. An experienced personal injury lawyer and Cincinnati auto accident attorney can assist in filing claims to recover the most compensation possible.

If a negligent driver or other defendant causes an auto accident and injures another individual, the negligent party is responsible for all injuries and economic loss that results from the accident.

Therefore, the injured party is entitled to compensation under Ohio Law. Compensation may include property damages, payment of medical care (past and future), loss of past earnings, loss of future earning potential, loss of enjoyment of ordinary activity, and pain and suffering.

In recent years, The Lyon Firm has obtained large settlements in wrongful death cases on behalf of families who suffered the loss of life, and also of those who suffered severe brain injuries during an accident.

The Lyon Firm also obtained a $1.5 million settlement for an under-insured motorist claim on behalf of a family who suffered the loss of their father when a distracted motorist crossed a double yellow line while speaking on the phone.

You may have been told that you need to pay a portion of your settlement award back to your health insurance carrier. This is generally true, and a failure to do so can result in fines, denial of coverage, and a loss of insurance.  Therefore, subrogation is an area to take very seriously, or you may find yourself on the wrong end of a lawsuit.

The amount of repayment depends on a number of variables, and should be negotiated carefully to avoid overpaying. Subrogation is a complex, yet important area of law where lawyers can make a big difference in the amount of your personal injury recovery.

While most insurance companies claim to come to the aid of victims after a serious auto accident, the real goal of your insurance company is to maximize their profits. They maximize profits by charging high premiums and limiting the benefits they pay victims following auto accidents.

Following the millions of serious car accidents that occur each year in the United States, victims are urged to contact attorneys to recover compensation due for medical expenses incurred, as well as pain and suffering and loss of wages and quality of life. Even if the accident was partially the fault of the victim, they may still have a claim against a negligent party involved.

Insurance companies may employ one or more of the following tactics to limit your benefits:

•   Underpaying Claims: offer you a settlement that does not reflect the true extent of your damages
  •    Pressure you into settling before consulting with an attorney
  •    Pressure you into signing waivers, statements, or releases which limit your ability to recover future compensation
  •    Shift fault for the accident to you in order to reduce or deny a claim

If you’re involved in a car crash, the expenses may be too much for many individual motorists to cover. That is exactly why we carry auto insurance. But not all auto insurance is created equal.

All states have some form of financial responsibility law that requires drivers to carry auto liability insurance. The Ohio law prohibits any person from operating or permitting the operation of a motor vehicle in Ohio without proof of financial responsibility throughout the registration period of a vehicle. These matters can be complex, however.

Ohio law only requires insurance coverage in the minimum amount of $25,000 for bodily injury to or death of one individual in any one accident, and $50,000 for injury or death of two or more individuals in an accident.

The type of car insurance coverage is important for a variety of reasons, and will determine whether what property will be covered in the event of an accident, and how much will be paid out of pocket.

In Ohio, even if a motorist is at fault for the accident and they have a good auto insurance policy, the insurance carrier should pay out up to the coverage limits.

If you are involved in an automobile accident, always ensure you have your insurance card with you. If you give permission for someone else to drive your vehicle, make sure that individual carries their own auto insurance.

After an auto accident, the first priority is safety for everyone involved. Beyond that, prepare for potential claims. Obtain photographs, witness testimony, and get the insurance information of other drivers involved in the accident.

Even if you do not have insurance, you still have basic rights if you are not at fault. Motorists can file a lawsuit against the driver at fault regardless of whether you have insurance.

Regardless of the primary cause of a car accident, it is important to investigate with experienced Accident Investigators and contact a Cincinnati Auto Accident Attorney to weigh your legal options.

Injured motorists and passengers in Ohio may be able to file a claim against negligent motorists and trucking companies and can seek compensation for incurred medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other damages.

Police reports, photographs of the accident scene, witness testimony and medical records are all important to collect following a severe road accident. To hold the negligent party liable for damages, there must be evidence of a traffic violation, negligent roadway design, or an auto component defect that caused the accident.

An investigation can often uncover the liability for injuries or a wrongful death. Forensic reconstruction of auto accidents may use the following evidence to help build a case:

• Damage to the vehicles
• Impact angles
• Length of tire skid marks
• Post-impact distance
• Friction values for road surfaces
• Weight of the vehicles

Accident reconstruction experts may be able to use an event data recorder in certain car and truck models. These devices are similar to black boxes in a commercial airliner, and record data from sensors.

Such data can reveal auto defects and component failure that may have contributed to the accident. Crash data available may include:

• Time of the accident
• Vehicle speed
• Engine speed
• Steering angle
• Throttle Defects
• Braking status
• Force of impact
• Seatbelt status

Accident engineers may also conduct a mechanical inspection of the vehicle to check brakes, airbags, tires and other safety features. There are 3D diagramming methods used by traffic accident reconstruction experts to determine the cause of accidents.

Our Firm will help you find the answers. The Firm has the experience, resources and dedication to take on difficult and emotional cases and help our clients obtain the justice for the wrong they have suffered. 

Experience: Joe Lyon is an experienced Cincinnati Personal Injury & Auto Accident Lawyer. The Lyon Firm has 17 years of experience and success representing individuals and plaintiffs in all fifty states, and in a variety of complex civil litigation matters. Accident lawsuits can be complex and require auto industry experts to determine the root cause of an accident or injury. Mr. Lyon has worked with experts nationwide to assist individuals understand why an injury occurred and what can be done to improve their lives in the future. Some cases may go to a jury trial, though many others can be settled out of court.

Resources/Dedication: Mr. Lyon has worked with experts in the fields of accident reconstruction, negligent roadway design, life care planning, economics, and virtually every discipline in successfully representing Plaintiffs across numerous areas of law. The Lyon Firm is dedicated to building the strongest cases possible for clients and their critical interests.

Results:  Mr. Lyon has obtained numerous seven and six figure results in personal injury,  automotive product liability, and auto dealership negligence cases.  The cases have involved successfully litigating against some of  the largest companies in the world.