Columbus Personal Injury Law Blog

It may take days to realize you were hurt after a car accident

On behalf of Tim Van Eman of Lamkin, Van Eman, Trimble & Dougherty, LLC posted in Car Accidents on Tuesday, August 22, 2017.

After a car accident, most people involved can be in a state of shock or experience an adrenaline rush that can make it hard to think. The mental trauma can make it difficult to truly assess the severity of your injuries. It can actually take several days before some symptoms make themselves known. This is one of the reasons why, if you have been in a car accident, it is important to see your doctor as soon as possible for an assessment.

Since some injury symptoms develop over time, you should become familiar with what to watch for in the days following a car accident. Read below for delayed injuries it may take several days for you to become aware of after a motor vehicle collision.

Deaths due to crashes involving drugs rising

On behalf of Tim Van Eman of Lamkin, Van Eman, Trimble & Dougherty, LLC posted in Car Accidents on Friday, August 18, 2017.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that deaths due to drunk driving are falling. Since 2006, those deaths have fallen by 24 percent. However, deaths due to driving under the influence of drugs are rising -- quickly.

In 1993, drug-related collisions across the country numbered 2,003. In 2015, that number rose to 7,438. These numbers are only for those crashes where a driver has drugs in his or her system and not whether impairment by drugs caused the crash. Here are some examples of crashes were drivers were intoxicated by drugs:

In North Carolina, all four occupants in an SUV overdosed on heroin and the vehicle crashed.
A man's grandfather had to grab the wheel after the grandson lost consciousness.
In Cleveland, Ohio, a man overdosed, drove off the road and struck a pole. He was seriously hurt and rescue workers had to use an overdose antidote to bring him back around.
A man struck a group of bicyclists and killed five of them after he ingested a handful of muscle relaxers and pain pills. Police reported that the man was "completely out of it."

Interdisciplinary teams unite to stop elder abuse in Ohio

On behalf of Tim Van Eman of Lamkin, Van Eman, Trimble & Dougherty, LLC posted in Nursing Home Neglect on Friday, August 11, 2017.

They say that a nation can be judged by how it treats its weakest citizens -- which include the disabled and the elderly.

Unfortunately, the elderly are a high-risk population when it comes to abuse and neglect. The longer that people live, the less likely they are to remain active in their community. This means that they aren't a visible presence.

Helping your teen return to school after a serious car accident

On behalf of Tim Van Eman of Lamkin, Van Eman, Trimble & Dougherty, LLC posted in Car Accidents on Monday, August 7, 2017.

Your teen was with you when it happened. A large semi didn't stop, and you were rear-ended. It was fortunate that no one was in front of you. Your vehicle survived the incident, and you both walked away from the crash with moderate injuries.

The crash had the potential to be much worse. Unfortunately, your teen took the brunt of the impact, so he has taken longer to recover. It's been several weeks, and it's only now that he's been talking about returning to school with injuries.

How can you help? Here are 4 ways to help mitigate potential issues that could arise when your teen returns to school.

Recovering from truck accident injuries as a college student

On behalf of Tim Van Eman of Lamkin, Van Eman, Trimble & Dougherty, LLC posted in Truck Accidents on Saturday, August 5, 2017.

As a college student, you already face many obstacles on your way to achieving a degree. Not only do you have a great deal of schoolwork to stay on top of, and possibly a job as well, many college students go through school one financial emergency away from everything falling apart.

If you are a college student who recently suffered an injury in a truck accident, then you would benefit greatly from professional legal help pursuing a fair resolution to your circumstances. In many cases, the difficulty of recovering from an injury, as well as the time consumed while trying to fight for fair compensation from an insurer is too much for many students to carry, and their academics suffer.

The good news is that you do not have to deal with this frustrating situation on your own. Now is the time for you to focus on being in college, not how you'll pay for hospital bills. An experienced personal injury attorney can come alongside you to fight on your behalf, ensuring that you receive fair and complete compensation for your injuries and other losses caused by the accident.

What are the main causes of traumatic brain injuries?

On behalf of Tim Van Eman of Lamkin, Van Eman, Trimble & Dougherty, LLC posted in Brain Injury on Friday, August 4, 2017.

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when there is a blow, bump or jolt to the head that causes a disruption in the brain's normal functions. Not every blow will result in a TBI. The most common type of TBI is a concussion, although the injury can be much more severe.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most common cause of TBIs was falls. Forty-seven percent of visits to the emergency room (ER), hospital admissions and deaths related to TBIs are due to falls. The oldest and youngest age groups are the most affected by falls.

Take action if you lose a loved one in an accident

On behalf of Tim Van Eman of Lamkin, Van Eman, Trimble & Dougherty, LLC posted in Wrongful Death on Friday, July 28, 2017.

The loss of a loved one in a tragic accident can lead to several different impacts on your life. The emotional impact is one of the most serious impacts because this is something that can affect every aspect of your life.

Feeling grief after you lose a loved one is a normal reaction. The issue comes in when you can't ever move past that negative feeling. It is understandable that your life isn't ever going to go back to the normal life that you knew before the fatal crash.

Man's family sues sheriff's office after fatal crash

On behalf of Tim Van Eman of Lamkin, Van Eman, Trimble & Dougherty, LLC posted in Wrongful Death on Wednesday, July 26, 2017.

The family of a 77-year-old Franklin County man that was struck and killed in a car crash in July of 2015 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and the officer alleged to have been responsible for his death. The officer is believed to have been responding to a call to backup another officer immediately prior to striking the man's car.

The police report prepared in this case highlights how the deputy sheriff in this instance drove his police car at speeds in excess of 100 mph. He had been called to back up another deputy who had detained a drunk driver right outside of Columbus at the time. Somewhere along his way, he collided with the decedent's van, causing an impact that resulted in the man being ejected from his vehicle.

Study says bike helmets massively reduce head injury odds

On behalf of Tim Van Eman of Lamkin, Van Eman, Trimble & Dougherty, LLC posted in Brain Injury on Friday, July 14, 2017.

If you have children, getting them to wear bike helmets may be a constant struggle. They don't want to wear them, and you have to fight about it every time they go for a ride.

Some parents give up. However, a new study says that helmets are incredibly helpful, massively reducing the odds of serious head injuries.

Collecting a judgment in a wrongful death case

On behalf of Tim Van Eman of Lamkin, Van Eman, Trimble & Dougherty, LLC posted in Wrongful Death on Monday, July 3, 2017.

Have you lost a loved one because of another person's actions or inaction? Did he or she pass away from injuries suffered in a slip-and-fall accident at a local store, a motor vehicle crash or a failure to diagnose by a physician? Have you thought about seeking compensation from the person responsible for your loved one's death?

At Lamkin, Van Eman, Trimble & Dougherty, LLC, we know how devastating it can be to lose someone you love because of someone else's recklessness, carelessness or negligence. We help the families of those who have died seek compensation for a variety of damages, including medical expenses, pain and suffering, final expenses and more. If you win a judgment in a wrongful death case, how do you collect it?