In the Toledo rear-end accident case study, a victim in Ohio suffered serious, life-altering injuries because of a negligent driver. Far too often do accidents like these happen. If you suspect that another driver’s irresponsible behavior caused your accident and subsequent injury, you need to connect with an experienced attorney familiar with rear-end collisions. An attorney could fight for your right to compensation after you sustained injuries in your wreck.

The Toledo Rear-End Wreck

The client in Toledo was travelling to lunch and was rear-ended by a semi-truck going 60 miles an hour that failed to stop at a red light. Because of the accident, the victim sustained serious injury to their back along with damage to their vehicle.

Later that back injury developed into an injury that required numerous surgeries and prevented the victim from returning to their field of work.

The Client’s Injuries in the Rear-End Accident

The injury that was sustained during the incident in Toledo initially was a sprain-strain of the middle of his back. The client went to the emergency room and the X-rays revealed that there were not any broken bones. The problems developed a few days after the accident. The client went to their family doctor, was given prescriptions, and referred a physical therapy. The client had a lot of problem with the physical therapy. After six sessions, because there was not any improvement, doctors ordered an MRI of the client’s lower back. That revealed a disc herniation at L5 S1 with a nerve root compression at the bottom of the back. The client was sent to a neurosurgeon who preformed a micro disectomy. The problem was that the client started having massive pain after the surgery and the neurosurgeon noted that there was fluid in the lower back region. They did a second surgery because the pain became unbearable. After the second surgery, the injury turned out worse. There was more fluid. At that point, the client switched surgeons and had a third surgery that involved other discs and that resulted chronic pain, depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies.

As a result, returning to work was no longer an option.

Injury Documentation for the Client

The injuries were documented for legal purposes. In this situation, attorneys ordered medical records of all of the doctors involved in treating the client. They also obtained reports from several doctors that talked about what the injuries were, what the diagnosis was, what the prognosis was, what the impact would be on the rest of the client’s life, and what future treatment would be needed. In this case, the doctors gave their opinion to a reasonable degree of medical certainty because that is the standard that opinions have to be under Ohio law.

How the Client Found an Attorney

The client found an attorney by calling the office of an attorney and indicating they were in a car accident. The victim was assigned an attorney, though, at the time, the injury was view as minor.

As time passed, and injury developed into something much more debilitating, the attorney drafted both a personal injury case and a workers’ compensation case against the victim’s employer.

The Parties Involved in the Toledo Case

There were two parties involved in the incident with the client in Toledo. The other parties that were involved in this case were the truck driver and the interstate trucking company that the trucker worked for. In addition, there was the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation that had a lien, meaning a subrogation interest to pay back all of the benefits that they paid under the worker’s compensation claim.

In-State Case Filings for the Victim

The accident happened in Wood County, Ohio, so the residents were all in-state. Because of this, attorneys did not have to file the case in federal court. But because of the location of the accident, attorneys had two choices as to where to file: Wood County or Lucas County, Ohio, which is within Toledo.

Additionally, the location of the incident was relevant to the case. Because it was in Wood County, Ohio, it allowed attorneys to consider Wood County as one of the possible places to file the case. The case could be filed either where the accident took place or where the defendant resided. The defendant resided in Lucas, Ohio, which is next to Wood County. That venue typically has a better jury pool and higher jury verdicts, which is why attorneys decided to vie for that location.

How Legal Jurisdiction Would Be Affected by an Out-of-State Resident’s Involvement

An out-of-state resident’s involvement would have influenced the legal jurisdiction tremendously. Attorneys would have had the option to file in federal court, but would have to have complete diversity to file in federal court.

How Toledo’s Rules and Regulations Affected the Case

There were few Toledo specific regulations or rules that applied to the client’s case due to the incident location. Since attorneys filed the case in Lucas County common police court, that court specifically has a rule that this type of litigation has to be sent to mediation where a mediator helps the parties try to resolve the dispute. In this case, attorneys could have taken the option of the free mediation in the Lucas County common police court. However, the attorneys decided to be more aggressive for both parties and hired an out-of-state private mediator. The client’s legal team felt that a mediator could devote more time, attention, and be more beneficial to all parties involved.

Reaching Out to an Attorney Could Prove Helpful

While driving, motorists and pedestrians alike trust that other drivers adhere to the rules of the road, obey traffic laws, and respect the space other drivers need. However, this is not always the case and in the Toledo rear-end accident case study, a victim was seriously injured as a result of another driver’s negligence. If you feel as though another driver did not give you the degree of care owed to you and subsequently caused your accident and injuries, it may be time to seek legal help. Do not wait for you claim to expire, contact a legal representative today.

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  • Toledo Rear-End Accident Case Study
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