No matter where it happens or what kind of vehicles are involved, being rear-ended while driving on a public road can be unsettling and potentially life-changing. Seeking fair financial recovery for the harm you have suffered from this type of wreck can be challenging, even if it seems obvious to you who is to blame for causing the crash and what damages and injuries you need to be reimbursed for.

Fortunately, support is available from the seasoned auto accident attorneys at Charles E. Boyk Law Offices, where we have years of experience in helping people in situations like yours. We can provide custom-tailored guidance and legal support through every stage of the litigation process after rear-end car accidents in Lima, from establishing solid grounds for a lawsuit or settlement demand to ensuring you get the compensation you need for every form of harm your crash has caused you.

Common Causes of Rear-End Wrecks

Most rear-end crashes in Lima happen near intersections and, more specifically, in places where traffic builds up as drivers wait to advance past a stoplight or stop sign. A driver who is speeding, drunk, distracted, or acting irresponsibly in some other way while approaching traffic may not notice it until it is too late for them to stop or swerve out of the way. The resulting collision may involve multiple cars and cause serious injuries to multiple people.

Rear-end wrecks can also occur on major highways for many of the same reasons. For instance, a driver who is looking at their cell phone instead of the road can easily collide with a motorist ahead of them who has slowed down for traffic or a roadway obstacle. It can be especially important to have help from legal counsel when suing over this type of rear-end crash since resulting injuries and losses are likely to be much more severe than those caused by a low-speed collision at a stoplight.

Proving Another Person Is at Fault for a Collision

After a rear-end auto wreck in Lima, the most important thing to establish during any ensuing lawsuit or settlement demand will be whether the defendant (the person being sued) was legally negligent. As your attorney change the wording to personalize it, “ As the attorneys at Charles E. Boyk Law Offices” can explain in more detail, an individual is negligent under Ohio civil law if they owe a duty of care to someone else—which requires them to act responsibly in a certain way under certain circumstances—but violate that duty by acting irresponsibly or illegally and then cause physical harm to the other person through their breach of duty.

Overtly illegal acts (such as drunk driving) and careless ones (such as losing concentration on the road) qualify as breaches of the duty all motorists have to act responsibly and lawfully at all times while driving. Proving that a driver caused a rear-end collision through a specific negligent act can require evidence from multiple sources, including eyewitness testimony, crash scene photos, surveillance or dashboard camera footage, and even input from accident reconstructionists. A seasoned legal professional can help you gather, preserve, and make effective use of this evidence during your claim.

What Is Comparative Fault, and How Can It Affect Recovery Efforts?

Legal counsel can also help fight allegations of comparative fault made against you—in other words, accusations that you were partly to blame for causing your rear-end crash in Lima through your own negligent conduct. This can be a bigger impediment to recovery during rear-end wreck litigation than you expect. For example, if you are speeding and rear-end a driver ahead of you because they suddenly slammed on their brakes for no reason, which of you is more at fault for the wreck?

Under Ohio Revised Code § 2315.33, any injured person who is assigned a percentage of comparative fault for their own injuries will have their final court award reduced by the same percentage. In addition, anyone found to hold a majority of the total fault for their own injury—more than 50 percent—is ineligible to get any civil compensation. Insurance companies adjust settlement offers with this rule in mind, so it can be a major obstacle even if you keep your case out of court.

Getting Paid Fairly for All Damages and Injuries

Assuming you do not have any issues with comparative fault as described above, you can get paid for both your economic and non-economic losses through a successful lawsuit or settlement demand over a Lima rear-end auto accident. In this context, economic losses are those with objective financial values that you can establish through quantitative evidence, such as bills and receipts, and non-economic losses can only be valued subjectively based on your unique experiences and, sometimes, on the legal precedent established through past cases like yours.

While every claim and every injured person are different, examples of possible damages and injuries to incorporate into your unique case include:

• Expenses from treating accident-related injuries, including assistive equipment, prescription medications, and travel to and from doctors’ appointments,
• Lost work income, benefits, or earning capacity,
• Expenses from personal property damage, including car repair or replacement costs and short-term rental car fees,
• Physical pain and suffering from injuries,
• Emotional trauma and distress from injuries or the accident itself, and/or
• Lost enjoyment of life or quality of life and other intangible effects of permanent disability or disfigurement.

Importantly, legal counsel can help you demand compensation not only for losses that you experienced before you file suit but also for losses that you expect to suffer in the future as a direct result of your crash-related injuries. Caps are imposed on recovery for non-economic losses in most cases by Ohio Revised Code § 2315.18, which a legal professional can explain in more detail.

Filing Deadlines for Rear-End Accident Claims

Even if your injuries from a rear-end wreck last for your entire lifetime, you do not have the rest of your life to file suit over your losses from them. Under Ohio Revised Code § 2305.10, you likely have no more than two years to start the legal process after being hurt through someone else’s negligence, starting from the moment you sustained an injury or, sometimes, the moment when you knew or reasonably should have known you were hurt due to another person’s misconduct.

There are no exceptions to this statute of limitations, and failing to abide by it will almost certainly lead to a court dismissing your case as soon as you try to file it. In some circumstances, the starting point for the two-year filing period can be tolled, or pushed back, for a certain amount of time—for instance, if a rear-end auto wreck in Lima causes an injury to someone under 18 years of age who cannot legally represent themselves in court until they are no longer a minor.

Why Work With Charles E. Boyk Law Offices?

From your first contact with Charles E. Boyk Law Offices until the conclusion of your claim, our team will work tirelessly and fight tenaciously to effectively enforce your rights, protect your best interests, and minimize additional stress on you and your loved ones during legal proceedings related to your Lima rear-end auto crash.

That is not an empty platitude. We offer a No Fee Promise, which is a guarantee that you will not pay us any money until we take your case and get you a settlement. If you are not sure about choosing us to represent you, we also offer free confidential initial consultations so you can get answers to pressing questions and information you need to make the best decision for your future prospects.

Contact a Lima Attorney Today for Help After a Rear-End Car Crash

Even if you have very strong grounds for a lawsuit or settlement demand, getting the restitution you need after a car crash can be far from simple. Unfortunately, legal and procedural obstacles can cause difficulties during negotiations with insurance providers and litigation in civil court, and overcoming those obstacles requires extensive legal knowledge and the experience to apply it effectively.

A capable car accident lawyer from Charles E. Boyk Law Offices has this type of knowledge and experience and can work diligently to make sure your claim has the best resolution possible. Call us today to discuss your legal options if you or your loved ones have been involved in rear-end car accidents in Lima.