Dedicated Cleveland Personal Injury Lawyers Advocating for Victims and Their Families

Car Accidents

Car accidents are unfortunately all too common on Ohio roads. There are many ways that a crash can occur, ranging from high-speed collisions on the highway to accidents involving children who are struck while playing in residential neighborhoods. Ohio is a comparative fault state, which means that the person who caused the crash must be more than 50% at fault in order to be held responsible for the losses and damages that result. But if you are found to be partly at fault, any award of damages you may be entitled to will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributable to you. Under Ohio law, as an Ohio accident victim, you may not sue the other party’s insurance. Instead, you sue the other driver. But usually, you first file an insurance claim with the at-fault driver’s insurer and if they are willing to fairly compensate you for your injuries and damages, you may seek compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. In a lawsuit, you will need to show that the defendant failed to use reasonable care at the time of the car accident and that this negligence was the cause of your injuries. Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to receive compensation for your injuries, economic damages including medical expenses and lost income and also non-economic damages for your your pain and suffering and, if you are married, your spouse’s loss of consortium and society. If the at-fault driver has no insurance or inadequate insurance, then you may be able to file an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim under your own automobile insurance policy. An experienced personal injury attorney at our Cleveland law firm can advocate for the full extent of damages that you may be entitled to.

Truck Accidents

Ohio’s many highways and freeways serve as a key trucking corridors in the region, which means that your risk of being involved in a trucking accident is unfortunately high. If you are injured in a truck accident, we can help you identify all of the parties who may have been at fault. A driver may have fallen asleep behind the wheel because she was driving for too many hours without legally required rest or driven while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In other cases, a trucking company may have been at fault for hiring an unqualified driver, failing to properly maintain the tractor- trailer, or a part may have contained a defect. Federal and state regulations control the trucking industry, and we can help you investigate whether a violation of a regulation contributed to your accident. This can be helpful in establishing truck or truck driver liability.

Motorcycle Accidents

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorcyclists are roughly 35 times more at risk of losing their life in a motor vehicle accident than people in regular passenger vehicles. When a motorcycle rider suffers serious injuries as a result of a crash, they can bring a negligence claim against the driver who caused the collision. A motorcycle accident can happen in many ways, but some common accidents include intersection collisions, left turn collisions, and sideswipe accidents. If another driver fails to pay adequate attention, they may fail to see a motorcycle in time to avoid a crash. As every rider knows, motorcycle riders are much more exposed, so their injuries tend to be serious. Our Cleveland personal injury attorneys are experienced and know how to prove a careless driver’s liability for your crash. And when we do, you can recover compensation for your medical bills, loss of income, costs of future treatment, pain and suffering, and other damages. In some cases, a defendant will try to fight back by arguing that the rider was at least partly at fault. We are skilled in dealing with allegations of comparative negligence and will fight to preserve your right to all of the compensation to which you are entitled.

Bicycle Accidents

Although bicyclist safety is increasing as drivers become more aware of the issue, many Ohio bicyclists are still injured in crashes caused by careless drivers. If you are injured in a bicycle accident, you can bring a claim against the driver who caused you harm. Our experienced Ohio bicycle injury attorneys will help you use cell phone or other records to prove that the driver was distracted while behind the wheel, or was speeding excessively through a residential area, failed to yield the right of way, or failed to check a blind spot. Similar to motorcycle riders, bicyclists often suffer catastrophic injuries like spinal cord injuries, brain trauma, broken bones, and scarring, because they are exposed and vulnerable. If needed, we can enlist knowledgeable medical, accident reconstruction and other experts for your case to make sure that the jury understands the extent of your injuries and how they were caused.

Medical Malpractice

When a medical professional fails to treat a patient with appropriate care, the results can be devastating. Our Cleveland personal injury lawyers can help you bring a lawsuit against the physicians, hospital or other health care providers who caused your injuries. According to Ohio law, medical malpractice occurs when a physician or other medical professional departs from the standard of care and causes a patient to suffer an injury as a result of that negligent treatment. This standard of care is determined by looking at whether the health care provider met the generally accepted practices and procedures that other medical professionals in the same specialty would use when treating a patient with similar conditions and under similar circumstances. Medical malpractice in Ohio may only be proved by using expert witnesses in the same medical specialty as the physician against whom the claim is being made. Only another doctor can testify about whether or not the doctor who treated you acted appropriately.

Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

We often depend on Ohio nursing homes to take care of our frail and elderly relatives. Although we may check on our relatives at these facilities, we largely rely on their staff to tend to a loved one’s daily needs and medical conditions. The Ohio Nursing Home Patients’ Bill of Rights protects nursing home residents. If you or a loved one was injured or suffered wrongful death while a resident of a nursing home due to the staff’s carelessness or deliberate misconduct, a lawsuit may be brought to recover damages and compensation for their injuries or wrongful death. To prove a nursing home neglect and abuse case, which may arise from inadequate staffing, poorly trained staff, or nursing or medical malpractice, requires detailed investigation of the nursing home records, the resident’s medical history and their treatment records. Numerous medical, nursing and other experts may be needed. We are experienced nursing home neglect and abuse lawyers who know how to get at the truth and can assemble the expert team to do it.

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Brain injuries caused by an accident (“traumatic brain injury”) may leave a victim with permanent, life-altering disabilities or impairments. They may affect your ability to work, process information or engage in physical activity. A brain injury is a complex condition that has a wide range of symptoms and effects associated with it. Diagnosing and proving a traumatic brain injury may require both medical and psychological testing to establish symptoms such as changes in personality or memory loss. In most cases, you can bring a negligence lawsuit against the person who caused your traumatic brain injury to recover compensation for the effects upon your quality of life, and, if it has prevented you from continuing in your usual occupation, you may be entitled to compensation for your past, present, and future loss of income and other damages. Contact a personal injury attorney at our Cleveland firm to find out more about your rights.

Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injuries may be the result of an automobile accident, medical malpractice or other negligence and may cause some of the most devastating disabilities that an accident victim can suffer. These injuries can result in partial or total paralysis or nerve injury that causes loss of motor function in one or more of the victim’s limbs, and may effect her entire body. Regardless of the extent of the paralysis or injury, the victim often faces a lifetime of pain, discomfort, disability and limited range of mobility. If you suffer a spinal cord injury as a result of someone else’s negligence,, our experienced personal injury attorneys can marshal the experts necessary to prove your injuries and show that the defendant’s failure to use the appropriate care at the time of the accident caused your injury.

Wrongful Death

Learning that a loved one has lost their life as a result of a preventable accident is one of the most emotionally traumatic and life-altering experiences that you can endure. Although no amount of money will replace what you have lost, monetary damages can help cover the financial impact of the accident, including medical expenses, lost income now and in the future and funeral expenses. Ohio allows surviving family members to bring a wrongful death lawsuit to recover compensation for the loss of their loved one if they died as a result of someone else’s negligent or reckless conduct. Spouses, children, and surviving parents are presumed to have suffered a direct loss in these situations. If you have lost a loved one in a fatal accident or because of medical malpractice or nursing home neglect and abuse, contact a personal injury lawyer at our Cleveland firm as soon as possible to learn more about your legal options.

Dog Bites

Like other states, Ohio has specific laws that define liability in situations in which a dog bites a victim. If your child or you are injured as a result of a dog bite, you can bring a personal injury lawsuit based either on Ohio’s strict liability statute or on a negligence theory. The strict liability statute does not require a victim to show that the owner was careless at the time that the bite occurred. There are certain defenses that owners can potentially assert against dog bite victims, such as provocation and trespassing. A personal injury lawyer at our Cleveland firm can help you get the compensation you deserve while anticipating and countering possible defenses.

Social Security Disability

The Social Security Disability program is designed to provide income replacement as well as access to either Medicare or Medicaid to individuals whose disabilities meet certain criteria. You must show that your condition meets or equals a medical listing contained in the Social Security Administration’s Listing of Impairments, or that you are disabled under the Medical Vocational Guidelines, if you are over the age of fifty. If your claim is wrongfully denied, which often happens, we can assist you with pursuing an appeal in the administrative process and ultimately in court if needed. But you must act quickly because you may only have 60 days to file your appeal and preserve your rights under a claim.

Business Litigation

There are many complex issues that can arise in the course of operating a business. When conflict arises, our experienced business litigation lawyers can guide you while we fight to protect the business you have built. Whether the conflict relates to a contract, construction, real estate or a business deal gone bad, it’s critical to have a knowledgeable and experienced business litigation attorney at your side. Our goal is to protect business owners by identifying potential risks, while being prepared to fight vigorously for the outcome that you deserve if the matter proceeds to litigation. Common examples of matters involved in business litigation include contract disputes, employment issues, commercial real estate or leasing disputes, and shareholder or partner disputes.

Discuss Your Situation with a Personal Injury Attorney in the Cleveland Area

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of another person’s negligence or carelessness, you may have many questions about whether you are entitled to compensation and how to go about securing it. At Rubin Guttman & Associates, our seasoned team of legal professionals is ready to assist you with all aspects of your case. We serve victims in cities such as Ashtabula, Cleveland, Beachwood, Parma, Lakewood, Euclid, Cleveland Heights, Strongsville, Akron, Columbus, Chardon, Toledo, Youngstown, Ravenna, Lorain, Painesville and Mentor. To set up your free consultation, call us now at (216) 696-4006 or contact us online.