Getting hurt can change your life. If you were injured in some type of preventable accident in Ohio, you may be owed compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.
A Columbus personal injury lawyer will advocate for your right to recover compensation after a serious accident.
At Thomas Law Offices, we work with clients dealing with a wide range of injuries. This includes those who are expected to make full recoveries quickly to those who have lifelong impairments like a traumatic brain injury or spinal cord damage.
If you’ve been hurt by another person’s negligence, we invite you to contact our personal injury law firm for a free initial consultation to discuss the rights you have in your case.
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What Is a Personal Injury?
“Personal injury” is a legal term that encompasses any injury that occurs to a person’s physical body or emotional state. This type of injury is the result of another person’s negligent or wrongful actions, and resulting damages are compensable under Ohio state law.
Common Causes of Preventable Injuries in Ohio
Personal injury lawsuits can arise from a variety of incidents where an individual is harmed due to another party’s negligence or intentional actions.
Some of the most common types of incidents that cause injuries that lead to lawsuits include:
- Motor Vehicle Accidents: Car wrecks, truck crashes, motorcycle accidents, bicycle collisions, or pedestrian accidents all cause injuries.
- Slip and Fall Accidents: Injuries that occur due to slips, trips, or falls on someone else’s property, often caused by hazardous conditions like wet floors, uneven surfaces, or inadequate lighting.
- Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect: Any injuries or illnesses caused by physical, emotional, sexual, and financial abuse or neglectful treatment of nursing home residents may warrant the filing of an injury claim.
- Medical Malpractice: Injuries caused by negligence or errors by healthcare providers, such as misdiagnosis, surgical errors, or medication mistakes.
- Product Liability: Injuries caused by defective or dangerous products, including design defects, manufacturing defects, or inadequate warnings.
- Workplace Accidents: Injuries that occur on the job due to unsafe working conditions, lack of training, or failure to provide appropriate safety equipment.
- Dog Bites: Injuries caused by dog attacks, where the owner may be held liable for failing to control their animal.
- Assault and Battery: Injuries resulting from intentional acts of violence or harm by another person.
- Wrongful Death: Claims brought by the family members of a person who has died due to the negligence or misconduct of another party.
Why You Need a Columbus Injury Attorney
A Columbus personal injury lawyer practices law with one goal in mind—helping injured victims navigate complex legal matters. As your legal team, we will be tireless advocates throughout the entire process, ensuring that the at-fault party is held responsible for their actions. A minor injury that does not require time off work or extensive medical treatment will likely not require the services of an attorney.
However, if you’ve been seriously injured, are unable to work, and are watching medical bills pile up, an attorney will be critical to the overall success of your claim.
The insurance company is not your friend, and they will try to minimize your right to compensation at every turn. Our personal injury attorneys won’t let that happen.
Our law firm focuses solely on helping injury victims who have been wrongfully harmed by another person’s or entity’s negligent actions. This background has allowed us to become intimately familiar with the impact of catastrophic injuries on a person’s life.
When handling your injury case, we will:
- Investigate your claim.
- Review relevant evidence, including accident reports, dashcam footage, security footage, eyewitness statements, photos of the scene, and more.
- Determine all liable parties, such as drivers, employers, property owners, doctors, hospitals, and dog owners.
- Value the worth of your claim to determine how much you’re owed, taking into account your missed pay, medical treatment, and past, current, and future medical bills.
- Negotiate a full and fair settlement with the insurance company.
- Prepare for the possibility of going to trial should out-of-court negotiations fail.
In all that we do, we uphold the attorney-client relationship. We get to know you as more than just the victim of an accident—we see you as a real, whole person. This approach allows us to handle personal injury claims in a manner that prioritizes you and your needs.
How Your Personal Injury Lawyer in Columbus, OH Proves Your Case
In personal injury law, negligence is of key importance. This concept refers to someone failing to exercise reasonable care, resulting in harm to another person. To establish a personal injury claim based on negligence, you must prove the following four elements:
- Duty of Care: This is the care owed by the defendant to the plaintiff. For example, drivers have a duty to operate their vehicles safely. Property owners have a duty to maintain safe premises for visitors. Health care professionals must uphold a certain standard of care and not unnecessarily expose their patients to harm.
- Breach of Duty: These are actions that violate a person or entity’s duty or standard of care they owe someone else. Things like speeding while driving, failing to maintain a safe workplace, or not fixing a hazardous condition on their property are all examples of these.
- Causation: This refers to a defendant’s breach of duty that directly caused the plaintiff’s injuries. In other words, the injuries would not have occurred “but for” the defendant’s actions or omissions.
- Damages: The best way to describe this is that the plaintiff suffered actual damages as a result of the defendant’s negligence. Damages may include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other economic and noneconomic losses.
Navigating life after a serious personal injury can be confusing. Making sense of what constitutes negligence is even more so. This is why we urge you to reach out to us to meet with one of our Columbus personal injury attorneys for a free consultation to discuss the viability of your case.
Who Is Liable for My Damages?
The cases we’ve handled over the years at Thomas Law Offices have often involved more than one at-fault party. Given that’s often the case in situations like these, you can expect us to conduct a complete investigation of your case to determine if any of the following parties may be liable for your resulting damages:
- Car or truck drivers
- Employers
- Property owners or managers
- Pet owners
- Nursing homes
- Product manufacturers
- Doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals
- Hospitals and medical facilities
How Much Am I Owed?
A common question we receive from our injury victim clients centers around how much compensation are you entitled to. That depends on the type of accident you were hurt in, the extent of your injuries, and the totality of your losses. Our legal team will evaluate your claim and tell you how much you are owed.
Keep in mind that most personal injury cases involve compensation for economic and noneconomic damages for losses like:
- Medical expenses
- Property damage
- Lost income or reduced earning capacity
- Permanent disability
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish or emotional distress
- Disfigurement
- Losses of enjoyment of life, consortium, etc.
Funeral and burial costs may also be recoverable if the personal injury incident caused your loved one’s wrongful death. Only a small percentage of cases merit punitive damages.
No matter your expenses, you can count on your Columbus personal injury attorney from our office to fight tirelessly on your behalf to get you the maximum compensation you deserve.
How Long Do I Have To File a Personal Injury Claim in Ohio?
Ohio state law imposes a time limit known as a statute of limitations for most civil actions. That filing timeline varies depending on the type of claim you are bringing. For example, the deadline for car accident and wrongful death cases is only two years, while you have up to four years to file a medical malpractice claim. Exceptions may apply that extend the statute of limitations in your case, which your injury lawyer can advise you of when you meet with them.
Our Legal Team Is Here To Help if You’re Hurt
When someone else’s negligence results in physical injuries, emotional trauma, and financial losses, Thomas Law Offices is the place to turn. Depending on the area of litigation under which your claim falls, you could be looking at months or even years of legal action, and we don’t want you to have to face that on your own. We are here for you.
If you or a family member have been injured due to someone else’s actions or negligence, contact us today to schedule a no-cost, no-obligation consultation with a Columbus personal injury lawyer.
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