Cincinnati Car Accident Law Blog

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that of all the months of the year, July and August see the most accidents. Many people in Cincinnati may wonder why this is true, especially when ice and snow in winter makes roads hazardous. However, summer driving is not without its dangers.

First, there are simply more motorists on the road in summer, and more vehicles means more crashes. Not only are people making their usual drives, but there are many vacationers taking road trips across the U.S. In addition, people make extra trips to parties, weddings or to area lakes or rivers. Simply put, roads are more congested in the summertime.

Getting out of a motor vehicle on a busy highway is always risky. Other drivers do not expect to see pedestrians near their right of way, and the narrow shoulders on some roads preclude parking a vehicle completely out of traffic. An apparent combination of driver inattentiveness and an unexpected stop recently led to the death of a resident of Greenwich, Ohio.

The man was driving his pickup westbound on Ohio 162. For unknown reasons, the man stopped his truck and attempted to get out of his vehicle. As the man opened his door, a school bus struck the pickup truck in the rear. The man was thrown to the payment by the impact, his truck was pushed off the north side of the road, and the school bus crossed the center line and drove off the south side of the highway.

Despite the fact that truck drivers are more careful on average than motorists, truck accidents are still a major problem on the roads of Hamilton County. Semitrailers are much bigger than passenger cars and trucks. In fact, a semitrailer can weigh 25 times as much as a passenger car, so the destruction can be much worse if an accident happens between these two kinds of vehicles.

Truck drivers, like all drivers, have a duty of care to others. Truck drivers are required to exercise reasonable care in the operation of their vehicles to avoid injuring others. Truck owners are also required to exercise reasonable care; this can mean taking reasonable steps to hire safe drivers and do routine service and maintenance on trucks. If one or more of these duties are breached and another party suffers injury because of the breach, the injured party may be able to recover damages from the negligent party.

When we hear stories on the news about accidents where it is believed that intoxication was a factor, our eyebrows automatically raise. How could a person choose to get behind the wheel after drinking or using other drugs? The truth is, it happens every day. After a victim is injured in a drunk driving accident, it's important to understand that the drunk driver can be sued in a personal injury claim on top of facing criminal charges.

What does this mean? Because it is illegal to drive drunk, the authorities are likely already looking into building a criminal case against the alleged drunk driver. However, those injured by the drunk driver should be looking into a case of their own. The victim can file a personal injury claim, seeking compensation for their medical expenses, property damage, lost time at work, and other damages.