In most cases, a lawsuit is filed in the county where the auto/motorcycle/truck accident occurred. But it does not HAVE to be limited to that county.

A common example will bring this into focus. Let's say you and your significant other are on a leisurely motorcycle stroll and a driver of a company car, drunk while on the job, turns left in front of you (the most common cause of an injury to a motorcyclist, by the way) and seriously injures both of you. His employer's place of business is in Cuyahoga County, he lives in Summit County, and the collision occurred in Stark County, Ohio. So which county is the proper one for bringing a lawsuit?

Answer: you can bring a lawsuit in any one of those three counties. The legal term which governs where a lawsuit is brought is called venue.  You've probably even use of part of that term on the TV news when a criminal defendant asks for a "change of venue."

Under Ohio venue rules, a lawsuit can be brought in the county where: (1) a defendant has its principal place of business, OR (2) the defendant resides, OR (3) the accident occurred. There is no pecking order or priority given to one location or another.

So, in the example above, the lawsuit can possibly be brought in Cuyahoga County since an employer can be liable for an employee who injures someone in the course and scope of his or her employment. It can also be brought in Summit County because the employee/drunk driver resides there. And, finally, it is also proper in Stark County because that's where the collision occurred.

The decision of the best place strategically to bring an Ohio auto or motorcycle accident claim depends upon many unique factors, and each county would have its plusses and minuses, all of which should be discussed with the client before a lawsuit is filed.

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If you've been in an Ohio car or motorcycle accident, you'll soon meet up with an adjuster who wants to take a "recorded statement" from you. We typically advise our clients (or potential clients who call) not to give a recorded statement to the at fault party's insurance company (as we have discussed here), but for those of you who are contemplating giving one to the adjuster, the following guide may help you prepare for what you may be asked:

EXAMPLE OF A TYPICAL INSURANCE COMPANY RECORDED STATEMENT


NOTE: This was a recorded statement taken by our client’s own insurance company seeking information. The adjuster did not ask the client for a social security number because the client’s insurance company already had it on file.

These interviews are basically “scripted” and the questions are typical ones you’d expect to see in any initial “interview.” How do we know they’re scripted? In this case, for unknown reasons, the insurance company made the client go through two recorded interviews (both were given before the client hired us). Both interviews were essentially identical. The client’s answers have been deleted for obvious reasons.

1. Could you please state your full name?

2. Do you understand that this interview is being recorded?

3. Is it being recorded with your permission?

4. If I need to share the information with another adjuster, may I do so?

5. What is your address and telephone number?

6. What is your date of birth?

7. What is the year, make and model of the vehicle you were driving?

8. Are you the registered owner of that vehicle?

9. Were you using the vehicle for any type of business or government use?

10. Were there any minors or passengers in the vehicle with you?

11. What was the date of your accident?

12. Around what time?

13. How many vehicles were involved?

14. What street did this happen on?

15. Was the weather a factor in the accident?

16. Was the traffic light, moderate or heavy?

17. What happened?

18. What type of damage was done to your vehicle?

19. Do you know what type of damage was done to the other vehicles?

20. Was there any type of evasive action that was able to be taken to avoid the accident?

21. Were you under the influence of drugs or alcohol?

22. Were you using a cell phone or any other electronic devices?

23. Was anything obstructing your vision?

24. Do you know how fast the other party was going?

25. Do you know what the speed limit is on that road?

26. Was your vehicle towed?

27. Were you wearing your seatbelt?

28. Did your airbag deploy?

29. Were the police called to the scene?

30. Was there a report taken?

31. Do you have the report number?

32. Was a ticket or citation issued?

33. Were the vehicles moved before the police arrived?

34. Did the police take statements from the drivers?

35. Were there any witnesses that saw the accident?

36. Do you have the witnesses’ contact information?

37. Was there property damage to street signs, poles or anything else?

38. Were you injured in the accident?

39. What type of injuries did you sustain?

40. At the moment of the impact, were you thrown forward, backward or sideways?

41. Did any part of your body make contact with the vehicle?

42. Was there any ringing in your ears or popping in your jaw?

43. Did you have any deep cuts or lacerations?

44. Was there any emergency treatment performed at the scene?

45. Were you taken to the hospital?

46. What hospital did you go to?

47. Were you transported by ambulance?

48. What treatment have you received since the accident?

49. Do you know the name of your doctor?

50. What type of treatment plan are you currently on?

51. Are you taking any medication?

52. If you can rate the pain that you feel now, 10 being the worst, 1 being the least, how would you rate your pain?

53. Did you have any prior injuries that could have resurfaced because of the accident?

54. Do you know the total amount of your medical bills to date?

55. How much time did you miss from work?

56. Where do you work?

57. What is your position there?

58. Are there any physical requirements for your position?

59. What is the name of your immediate supervisor?

60. Do you know a phone number for your supervisor?

61. Are you paid hourly or salary?

62. How many hours do you work per week?

63. What is your salary?

64. Do you make any type commissions or bonuses?

65. How long have you worked there?

66. What type of medical benefits do you receive?

67. Do you know if any of the other parties in the other vehicle were injured?

68. Is there anything in reference to the accident that you would like to add that we have not discussed that we should know about?

69. Have you understood all these questions?

70. Is this recording true and correct to the best of your knowledge?

71. Has this recording been made with your knowledge and consent?

72. Would you state your name again please?

  

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Occasionally we get this question from someone "going it alone" without an attorney. First, there are quite a few reasons NOT to represent yourself in your personal injury claim (and 1 reason where it's OK) as I wrote about in our book: "Your Ohio Accident Claim: Sorting Through The Insurance Maze (available for free through our website www.n-wlaw.com).

But if you are inclined to roll the dice with the friendly adjuster and the insurance company, the true answer to this question is: it's really hard to know without knowing a lot of detail about what happened. Was the collision a 5 mph love tap in the mall parking lot, or did someone run a stop sign at 45 mph and obliterate you? Were you hit by a slobbering drunk driver who fled the scene and later blew a .018--double the legal limit--or a nice elderly woman coming home from the church picnic?

These things make a difference.

More importantly, as we like to say, the "devil is in the details." One of the first things I do to evaluate an auto or motorcycle accident claim is to order and then read your medical records. They are liable to say ANYTHING, and they can make a difference in the evaluation of your claim. Take, for example, this entry in a client's physical therapy records from a few years ago:

"Patient reports increased pain after playing 17 games of softball over the weekend."    

Now this client was in a really bad crash and she needed quite a bit of doctor ordered physical therapy. But her auto accident injury claim ended with that PT entry/record. I told her: "If you're well enough to play 17 games of softball, you have recovered from your injuries in the eyes of the insurance company, and any bills you incur after that will not be related to your claim."

You can be sure the insurance company will be reading those records with the blank authorization you gave them to enable them to order the records. And most folks who call me while "going it alone" have not even bothered to read their own records and have no idea what they say (yet another big mistake they make while representing themselves).

This is just one example of why it is very difficult--and frankly quite stupid--for any personal injury attorney to give an opinion of claim value over the phone. I tell my clients the same thing at the initial client consultation: "I will eventually be able to give you a value or a range of values on what your injury claim is worth, and I'll meet with you in person and go over it. But only after I have reviewed  everything--the police report, all of your records, bills, EOB's, lost wages, photographs, and other materials. If you're looking for an instant evaluation on the first visit, you've got the wrong person and need to go elsewhere."

I say this even in situations where I have a good idea as to where the claim may go in terms of settlement value. Sometimes little things crop up that you discover that sway the value of a claim in either direction--both good and bad.

Knowing where to look separates us from the guy or gal who has never negotiated a single auto collision claim against an insurance company, much less their own.

Handling, evaluating, and negotiating auto, motorcycle, or truck accident claims may not be the equivalent of preparing a seven course meal for a table of food critics. But it ain't "instant oatmeal" either. Some attention to detail, and some good old fashioned time, are necessary ingredients as well.

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The reason is simple: because she can. After almost 25 years of representing Ohioans in auto, truck, and motorcycle accident injury claims, there is one thing I'm sure of: the relationship between you and the insurance company you're dealing with is an adversarial one. It is not a business model that's designed to be "fair" to you or transparent.

As proof of this, ask any adjuster any of these questions after they contact you: (1) Will you allow me to take a recorded statement of your insured, the person who smashed into me?  After all, they will require a recorded statement of you. (2) Will you divulge your insured's Social Security number? A standard request they will ask of you to snoop into your financial and credit history. (3) Will your insured sign an authorization allowing me to obtain his medical records both before and after the crash? You can bet they'll ask you to sign these authorizations, which give them a blank ticket to fish around in your medical history YEARS before the crash.

(4) What are your insured's liability limits? They'll ask all about your sources of insurance, such as your auto medical payments and health insurance coverage. (5) Will you pay my medical bills as they come due and reimburse me for mileage and gas for all of my doctors and therapy visits? 

As you'll soon learn, this is a one way street. You will jump through all kinds of hoops, signing all their papers, operating on faith that they'll "do the right thing...and frequently receive nothing in return from the insurance company. And be prepared to hear "company policy does not allow us to divulge that information." See how this works? How do I know this? It's one of the main reasons why people call me after getting nowhere with the insurance company.

This doesn't make the adjuster or the insurance company evil. It's just that their goal, their mission, their reason for existing, is to pay as little as possible. But it doesn't mean you have to accept it, unless you like the equivalent of slamming your head against a concrete wall.

 

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