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Text messaging while driving can cause car accidents, personal injury

Anneke Kurt — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 08:10:06 GMT

The American Automobile Association found that out of 1,000 16 and 17-year-olds polled, 46 percent of them admitted to text messaging while driving. AAA also found that some teens receive and send as many as 500 text messages in one day.

That means a lot of distracted driver could be on the roads.

Text messaging has become the fastest new way to keep in touch with family and friends. While sending text messages is fun, texting behind the wheel is dangerous and can cause car accidents resulting in personal injury or wrongful death.

Ohio State Representative Diane Fessler believes that the practice is so dangerous, that she has introduced a bill that would make text messaging while driving against the law.

Similar to the consequences of not obeying Ohio's seatbelt law, the offense would cost a driver $250 in fines, according to Toledo Legal News.

Our Toledo, Ohio personal injury attorneys want to remind readers that while technology can improve our lives, some of our gadgets can be distracting when we're behind the wheel. The risk for a car accident increases by 50 percent for those who text while driving, according to a study by psychologists at the University of Utah.

Teens aren't the only ones to blame. Many cell phones have personal computing capabilities, such as the Blackberry or the iPhone. Checking email, sending memos, and setting calendared appointments behind the wheel can be just as distracting as text messaging.

Toledo Legal News also reported that AAA found that a driver doubles his risk for a car accident when he takes his eyes of the road for more than two seconds, and that 80 percent of collisions involve some sort of inattention.

It takes two hands to drive a car, and only two seconds to cause a car accident resulting in personal injury. Keep yourself and your family safe by keeping your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Anneke Kurt

Increased text messaging behind the wheel could increase number of car accidents

Chuck Boyk — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:36:30 GMT

While cell phone use behind the wheel has always been a main source of distracted driving, text messaging while driving has also become a popular phenomenon among young drivers, creating concern that it could lead to more car accidents.

A recent study by Findlaw.com found that nearly half of drivers 18-24 admit to texting or emailing via cell phone while driving. The study of 1,000 Americans also found that 27 percent of adults aged 25 to 34 and 19 percent of adults aged 35 to 44 admit to texting as well.

Ohio is the process trying to make texting while driving against the law, according to Toledo Legal News. The prospective law would cost a driver caught texting behind the wheel $250 in fines.

The University of Utah found that the risk for a car accident increases by 50 percent for those who text while driving. AAA reports that the risk for a car accident also double for those drivers who take their eyes off the road for only two seconds, and that 80 percent of car accidents involve some sort of inattention.

Our Toledo, Ohio car accident attorneys have seen time and time again the devastation that car accidents can bring to a family. We urge drivers to leave their cell phones alone while driving. If a call must be made or received, our Toledo, Ohio car accident attorneys encourage drivers to pull over to use their phones or use a wireless headset such as a Bluetooth.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a car accident, contact our office to order your FREE copy of The Ohio Accident Book. The book will teach you the proper steps to take after an injury, as well as inform you of your rights under Ohio law.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chuck Boyk

Mother, four children killed in Toledo, Ohio drunk driving car accident

Anneke Kurt — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:57:20 GMT

A tragic car accident last night resulting in the wrongful death of five family members is the only evidence needed to prove how devastating drinking and driving can be. An alleged drunk driver traveling the wrong way on I-280 in North Toledo hit the family of eight almost head on, killing a mother and four children, one of whom was only an infant. Police said the driver's blood alcohol level at the time of the car accident was 0.254 percent, over 3 times the legal limit in Ohio, according to the Toledo Blade. The family was believed to be traveling home to Maryland after visiting relatives in Michigan for Christmas when the car accident occurred.

Our Toledo, Ohio, personal injury attorneys see the devastating effects drunk driving and DUIs have on families and urge drivers not to drink and drive. New Year's Eve is a popular night for parties and family gatherings, many of which serve alcohol. If you plan on consuming alcohol this New Year's Eve, please designate a driver. Our attorneys encourage drivers to set aside extra money for a cab and stick the number to a local cab company in their purse or wallet before leaving for the night. If there is any doubt at all that you have had too much to drink, call a ride. Give your car keys to a responsible person when you arrive at the party, or make arrangements to stay overnight at the family gathering. It is better to wake up in a bed at your family's house than to cause another driver to wake up in the hospital or not at all. Don't be the cause of wrongful death and personal injuries after drunk driving car accidents.

For more information on this subject, please see our section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Anneke Kurt

Child helmets can prevent serious head injuries

Chuck Boyk — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:13:08 GMT

Warmer weather brings more and more kids out of the house to ride their bikes. One way to prevent personal injuries is to have your child wear a helmet at all times when participating in any wheeled activity such as riding an ATV or bicycle. Safe Kids USA reports that helmets can reduce the risk of brain injury by as much as 88 percent, when worn properly. Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and disablement among children, and as many as 3,000 children suffer die from brain injuries, according to the National Safe Kids Campaign.

When fitting a helmet for your child, make sure it fits snuggly and close to the head. The chinstrap should be tight to the chin without causing pain, in order to prevent the helmet from sliding back behind the head. The helmet should stay in place regardless of body movement. Never buy a helmet that is too large, with the thought that a child can grow into it. Buy a snug-fitting helmet and replace it as your child grows. If there are gaps between the child’s head and the helmet, the helmet cannot protect properly. Also make sure that the helmet does not obstruct vision, especially peripheral vision.

Our Toledo, Ohio, personal injury attorneys urge parents to wear their helmets and to teach their children how to protect themselves. Not only should children wear a helmet to prevent personal injury, they should always use sidewalks and never ride in the road. Stay visible to drivers backing out of driveways, and never weave in and out of traffic on an ATV or bicycle. If parents allow their children to ride on an ATV, they should be supervised at all times to avoid personal injury from an ATV accident. Children are more likely to rollover or lose control of large, heavy ATVs, due to their small size and weight.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chuck Boyk

Winter is not most dangerous time to drive | Ohio fatal car accident lawyers

Chuck Boyk — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:13:46 GMT

It turns out that the snowy winter months are not the most dangerous time to drive. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, of NHTSA, reports that August is the most dangerous month to be on the road, and Saturday is the most dangerous day to drive.

The number of car accidents in August 2008 totalled 3,612 and the number of car accidents in January of the same year were 2,818, according to the NHTSA. The change in the number of car accidents could be due to the time of day, simple distractions, or unsafe behavior, according to Forbes.com, who reported the findings.

The NHTSA also reported that speeding is a factor in 30% of all fatal car accidents, 18% of daylight car accidents were alcohol-related, and 54% of nighttime car accidents were alcohol-related.

Our Toledo, Ohio car accident lawyers handle Ohio car accidents on a regular basis. If you or someone you love has been injured in an Ohio car accident, contact our office today for your FREE copy of The Ohio Accident Book. You can also contact our attorneys 24 hours a day, seven days a week to discuss your Ohio car accident case.

Injured in Michigan? We work with Michigan's best car accident attorneys, Buckfire and Buckfire. They handle all types of Michigan car accidents, and have also written The Ultimate Michigan Car Accident Handbook. To order your FREE copy today, contact their office 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chuck Boyk

Ohio car accident lawyer discusses will execution | Ohio wrongful death attorneys

Chuck Boyk — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:24:00 GMT

Toledo, Ohio car accident lawyer Dale Emch discusses will execution in his most recent Legal Briefs column in the Toledo Blade. If you have a general legal question you would like to see considered for publication in Legal Briefs, including those involving Ohio car accidents, Ohio workers' compensation claims, Ohio dog bites, or Ohio ATV and motorcycle accidents, contact Attorney Emch at demch@charlesboyk-law.com or by contacting our office.

Dear Dale: I have some questions about being an executor of a will. When an attorney is appointed to be the executor of a family member’s will, how is the attorney paid for his services? How is the attorney held accountable for his honesty and integrity in handling the execution of the will? And, does the attorney have an obligation to make a financial accounting to the beneficiaries of his fees?

ANSWER: Ohio and local rules specify how executors and attorneys can be compensated. Executors and attorneys serve different functions in how estates are handled through the Probate Court.

Let’s start with the role of the executor. The executor administers the estate of a decendent who had a will.

This person can be a family member, a trusted third party, a lawyer, a bank, or a trust company. This can be a big job that includes responsibilities such as receiving payments owed to the estate, paying debts owed by the estate, determining the estate’s beneficiaries, and following the Probate Court’s orders concerning the estate.

An executor has a duty to act in the best interest of the estate and to carry out all state-law- mandated responsibilities. Acting in the capacity of an executor can be a time-consuming job for which state law allows compensation.

Under state law, an executor of an estate involving a will can receive a commission of 4 percent of the first $100,000 of the estate; 3 percent above $100,000 and below $400,000, and 2 percent above $400,000. So, for example, if you were the executor of an estate valued at $200,000, you could receive $4,000 for the first $100,000 and $3,000 for the next $100,000 for a total of $7,000. An executor also can receive commissions for other activities, but my space is too limited to include a laundry list here.

Whether or not the attorney acts as the executor doesn’t matter in terms of the legal obligations imposed.

The executor must carry out the obligations mandated by law, must act in good-faith, and must account to the Probate Court for expenditures made on behalf of the estate and for the fees received for those services.

If an executor does not meet the obligations imposed by law, the Probate Court can remove the executor.

You also asked about whether an executor has to make an accounting to the beneficiaries. At a time specified by state law, the executor has to make an accounting to the Probate Court and the beneficiaries.

But that doesn’t mean that a beneficiary has the right to demand an accounting of the executor whenever he or she wants that information.

Because you intertwined the roles of attorneys and executors in your question, I want to address compensation for attorneys. It’s not hard to imagine that the duties of an executor can become pretty overwhelming, especially if an estate contains a lot of assets or debts. Executors often hire an attorney to help sort out the estate and to handle the legal work with the Probate Court.

Attorneys can set their own hourly fees for estate work. They also can elect to be compensated in an amount set by the Probate Court. In Lucas County, the schedule for attorney fees on probate assets is 4.5 percent of the first $100,000; 3.5 percent of the next $300,000, and 2.5 percent of the remaining balance.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chuck Boyk

Pay rent into escrow if you have a dispute with a landlord

Dale Emch — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 17:39:28 GMT

Tenants who can't get their landlords to make repairs often threaten to withhold their rent payments.

But tenants should be careful with this approach. In my Toledo Blade column on Sunday a reader asked what she could do if her landlord wouldn't make repairs. In Ohio, tenants have the right to pay their rent into an escrow account through a municipal or county court. That way, they can get a landlord's attention because the money stops flowing, but it's done in a legal way.

In Toledo, a case is opened and if the complaint doesn't have anything to do with a health or safety code issue, it's referred to the citizen dispute program. If the matter can be worked out, the case is closed. If it can't, it proceeds through the housing court.

Though it can be tempting to stop paying rent to an absentee landlord, you're only given the landlord ammunition to evict you.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Dale Emch

How do bail bonds work?

Anneke Kurt — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:37:38 GMT

While this article describes a criminal case, Toledo, Ohio personal injury attorney Dale Emch also handles personal injury, workers' compensation and dog bite injury cases. Attorney Emch describes the bail bond process in his most recent "Legal Briefs" column in the Toledo Blade.

Dear Dale: A relative of mine is facing criminal charges. The judge has set a bond of $50,000 and said something about "no 10 percent allowed." Does this mean my relative has to pay the entire $50,000 in order to get out of jail before his trial, or does he have other options?
ANSWER: Your relative has some options, but exercising them won't be cheap. To understand the situation, it might be helpful for you to have a little background about bail and how it works.
Judges set bail in order to give someone a financial incentive to come to trial and the preliminary court proceedings. If the defendant doesn't show up, the person can lose the amount of the bond he or she posted in order to be released from jail.
In nearly all circumstances, a judge or magistrate must set bond for someone facing a criminal charge. In rare situations such as when the defendant is facing the death penalty, a judge can order someone to be held without bond. In nearly all cases, defendants have a constitutional right to have a bond set.
Judges have a tremendous amount of discretion when it comes to setting bond. Despite that discretion, the amount must be reasonable and not excessive. That's a bit of a fuzzy concept, but factors considered include the seriousness of the charge, whether the defendant is a flight risk, the defendant's record, the defendant's ties to the community, and whether the defendant has failed to appear for court in other circumstances. The wild card beyond those factors is that each judge has his or her own view of what's reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances.
People often wonder why defendants are allowed out of jail prior to a trial, especially if the alleged crime is serious. The main reason is that defendants are presumed innocent in our system until proven guilty. Our federal and state constitutions require that courts don't set excessive bonds so defendants can be free until they get their day in court. But, as a practical matter, there simply isn't enough jail space available to hold defendants even if judges were allowed. Keeping people in jail is an expensive proposition. Judges and various government officials wrestle every day with weighing the balance of protecting the community and ensuring people show up for trial with how to pay for it all. That's a tough equation to calculate.
So, with that background, let's take a look at your relative's situation. The judge determined that the risk of losing $50,000 would encourage him to come back to court as required. The judge could have allowed your relative to remain free on his own recognizance, which means he wouldn't have to post any bond at all and the judge was trusting him to come back.
The judge also could have allowed your relative to post 10 percent of the bond through the court. That means your relative could have paid $5,000 through the clerk's office and would have received the vast majority of the $5,000 back at the conclusion of the case had he come to court when required.
That didn't happen in the situation you've described. The judge in your relative's case specifically ruled that 10 percent could not be posted through the court. That means that your relative would have to put up all $50,000 with the clerk's office to get out of jail while the case is pending.
Most people can't come up with that kind of money, which is where a bail bondsman enters the picture. A bail bondsman typically charges 10 percent of the bond set by the court. The defendant never gets that 10 percent back because that's how the bondsman makes his living. That's the difference between being allowed to post 10 percent through the court or having to go through a bondsman. The bondsman keeps the 10 percent you pay, while the court returns most of it.
When the judge doesn't allow 10 percent to be posted, he or she either assumes the defendant won't be able to post or puts the bondsman in the position of ensuring to the extent possible that the defendant will continue to appear in court.
In your relative's case, he'll have to come up with $5,000 to pay a bondsman, who will then put up the $50,000 bond with the court. Your relative won't get that $5,000 back. It won't be cheap, but it may be worth it if your relative wants to work while the case is pending or if it's just worth it to him to secure his freedom until trial.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Anneke Kurt

Ohio car accidents on the job can be confusing; learn about Ohio Workers' Compensation

Chuck Boyk — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:48:00 GMT

Ohio workers’ compensation attorney Dale Emch addresses the issue of Ohio car accident work injuries in his Toledo Blade column “Legal Briefs.” Attorney Emch answers general legal questions every other Sunday on topics ranging from Ohio dog bites and wrongful death, to medical malpractice and Ohio ATV accidents. Read his column below.

Dear Dale: If one of our employees is injured in a car accident in a company vehicle while on the job, what can we recoup from the person who caused the accident? If our workers' compensation payments increase, can the person who caused the accident be forced to pay the difference?

You've raised a few points about the degree to which someone who causes a traffic accident might be held financially responsible. To provide answers to your specific questions, it might be helpful to have a more general understanding of how much money the victim of an injury accident can recover.

Generally, the victim in a personal injury accident can recover for all of his financial loss. The injured person can recoup losses for medical bills incurred, lost wages, pain and suffering experienced, and the cost of vehicle repair. In some limited situations, such as when the person who caused the accident was intoxicated, punitive damages may be awarded as a way to punish the driver and set an example to others.

The idea is to make the injured person whole for actual expenses incurred and provide compensation for the pain experienced. The person who caused the accident is responsible for the financial damage caused to the extent the injured person can provide evidence of his injuries. Obviously, these expenses can mount quickly, which is why we're all required under Ohio law to carry liability insurance.

The same concept applies to anyone who experienced a loss as the result of another's negligence. So, if you're an employer and your employee is injured in a company vehicle, the person who caused the injury is financially responsible for the damage to your vehicle. Usually, this is the easy part of an accident claim. If it's clear that one person is responsible for causing the accident, that person's insurance company generally will settle the property damage. You may not always think the compensation offered is fair, but usually you'll get it worked out.

Applying these ideas to your situation, you should be able to recoup any losses caused by damage to your company vehicle. The workers' compensation issue is a lot trickier. In Ohio, employers either pay into a state fund or qualify for self-insured status. It's a no-fault system, which means that generally, regardless of whether the employee causes the injury or if it's somehow caused by the employer's conduct, workers' compensation will provide benefits to the injured worker.

It seems that you're concerned that if one of your employees is injured as the result of a third party's negligence, you'll be stuck paying higher premiums. This may not be the case at all. Your premiums may not budge as a result of the claim, especially if the injury was caused by a third party not related to your company.

If your injured worker brings a personal injury claim against the person who caused the accident, workers' compensation has a right to recoup any money it paid for the workers' comp claim. That recovery is based on a formula that includes such things as the amount recovered, the expenses incurred to secure that recovery, and the attorney's fees. You might get credit for the amount the system recovers on the claim, but I don't think you'd be able to sue the third party for any increase in your premiums.

I don't have enough space in the column to provide a lot of details about the impact to your workers' compensation premiums, but if you think your company may be affected by this type of situation, I'd recommend that you contact the Bureau of Workers' Compensation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chuck Boyk

Book recommendations for those dealing with tragic loss of loved one | Ohio fatal accident lawyers

Chuck Boyk — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 15:19:03 GMT

Dealing with an unexpected death or losing a loved one to tragic circumstances is devastating. Dealing with the emotions of loss, confusion, and grief can be hard even when the death is natural.

Our Ohio wrongful death lawyers see the devastation that Ohio fatal accidents can have on a family. Our attorneys encourage the surviving family and friends to talk about their feelings, and avoid bottling up any emotions.

We realize that sometimes it can be hard to talk to someone, especially if there are few surviving family members. Our Toledo, Ohio fatal accident lawyers recommend these books to help survivors cope with a loss, and learn how to talk to others about the pain they are suffering. Titles that can help you deal with the loss of a loved one include: This Thing Called Grief: New Understandings of Loss by Thomas Ellis, When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kusner, Spousal Bereavement in Late Life by Camille Wortman, and Lessons of Loss: A Guide to Coping by Robert A. Neimeyer.

The attorneys in our office have also written a book called The Ohio Wrongful Death Book that helps surviving family members navigate the complicated world of an Ohio wrongful death claim. If you or someone you know if suffering a loss due to a fatal Ohio accident, contact our office today for your free copy.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chuck Boyk