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Ohio Car
Accident Lawyers
Hurt in a crash that was not your fault?
Our family has stood up to insurance companies for injured Ohioans since 1953.
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Since 1953
Family-Owned Firm
Millions Won
For Our Clients
3 Generations
of Knisley Attorneys
No Fees
Unless We Win
Who Pays After a Car Accident in Ohio?
Ohio is an at-fault state. The driver who caused your crash is generally responsible for the costs, usually through their insurance company. You may still recover compensation as long as you were not more than 50 percent at fault.
That last part is more important than most people realize. Insurance companies understand Ohio's comparative negligence rule: your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, and if you are more than 50 percent at fault you recover nothing (R.C. 2315.33). That is why adjusters work so hard to place some of the blame on you. A car accident lawyer's first job is to prove the other driver's negligence and keep your side of that math clean.
You can still recover when
You were partly at fault, up to 50 percent
You were a passenger in either vehicle
The other driver was drunk, distracted, or fled the scene
How fault limits recovery
Your award is reduced by your percentage
of fault
More than 50 percent at fault means no recovery
The adjuster's version of fault is not the final word. Evidence is.
What if the driver who hit you is uninsured or fled?
Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may pay instead. Ohio only requires drivers to carry minimum liability limits of 25/50/25 (R.C. 4509.51): up to 25,000 dollars for one injured person, 50,000 dollars total for everyone hurt in the crash, and 25,000 dollars for property damage. A serious injury can pass those limits fast, and many Ohio drivers carry no insurance at all. Whether the driver had no coverage, too little, or fled the scene, we pursue your UM/UIM claim with the same care as a claim against the other driver.
What to Do After a
Car Accident in Ohio
Call 911 and get medical care, document the scene, get the official crash report, and be careful what you say to insurance adjusters. Under Ohio law, you generally have two years from the crash to file a lawsuit.
Call 911 And Get Medical Care
See a doctor right away, even if you feel fine, because some severe injuries take days to show up.
Document The Scene
Photograph the vehicles, the road, and your injuries, and get the names of any witnesses.
Get The Official Crash Report
Request the crash report from the Ohio State Highway Patrol or local police department.
Be Careful With The Insurance Companies
Report the crash to your
own insurer, but do not give the other driver's adjuster a recorded statement.
Talk To An Attorney Before The Deadline
Ohio typically allows two years from the accident to file suit (R.C. 2305.10).
Compensation You Can Recover After an Ohio Car Accident
An Ohio car accident claim can pay your medical bills, your lost wages, your pain and suffering, and your property damage. In drunk driving cases, punitive damages may also
be available.
Medical Bills
Every crash-related cost, from the ER visit to surgery, therapy and the future care your doctors say you will need.
Lost Wages And Earning Ability
The wages you lost while recovering, and the earning capacity you lose if you cannot return to your previous job.
Pain And Suffering
Compensation for what the crash took from your daily life, which the insurance company will never volunteer to pay.
Property Damage
Repairing or replacing your vehicle and the other property damaged in the crash.
What Is Your Car Accident Claim Worth?
There is no set price, and be careful with anyone who quotes you an average. Value depends on how serious your injuries are, how long treatment lasts, your share of fault, the insurance coverage available, including your own UM/UIM, and how the crash changed your work and your life. We cannot promise a number, but we can show you how value is really decided.
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Dealing With the
Insurance Company
The at-fault driver's insurance company is not on your side. Adjusters ask for recorded statements, push quick lowball offers, and look for reasons to blame you. You do not have to face them alone.
The calls come within days, and the adjuster is pleasant. But every word in that conversation has a job to do. A recorded statement gives them something to twist against you later. Adjusters will also ask you to sign a blanket medical release, betting they can find something in your old records to pin an earlier injury on you instead of the wreck. A quick settlement check shuts your claim down before you even know how badly you are hurt. And every crash question is an opportunity to push your fault closer to that 51 percent line. Once you sign a release, the claim is dead for good, regardless of your injuries.
Why the first offer is almost never the real number
The first offer comes while you are still being treated, before they know how much recovery will cost. Insurers set early offers low to close files cheaply, not to pay claims fairly. Once an attorney values the entire claim and negotiates with proof, the number moves.
Car Accidents and Injuries We Handle
We represent Ohioans hurt in rear-end, intersection, head-on, hit-and-run, drunk driving, distracted driving, rideshare, and multi-vehicle crashes, with injuries that range from whiplash to brain and spinal injuries.
Rear-end collisions
Intersection and T-bone crashes
The most common Ohio crash, and a frequent cause of whiplash, neck, and back injuries.
Failure-to-yield and red-light crashes that strike the side of the car, where you have the least protection.
Drunk and impaired
driving crashes
Crashes caused by impaired drivers, which may support punitive damages on top of your claim.
Hit-and-run and uninsured
driver crashes
When the driver flees or carries no insurance, your own UM/UIM coverage may become the claim.
Head-on and wrong-way crashes
The most violent collisions on the road, and the most likely to cause catastrophic injuries.
Distracted driving crashes
Texting and phone-use crashes, where phone records can prove exactly what the other driver was doing.
Rideshare crashes
Uber and Lyft crashes involve layered company policies, and which one applies depends on what the driver was doing.
Multi-vehicle pileups
Chain-reaction crashes where several insurers point at each other, and careful fault work decides who pays.
How Our Ohio Car Accident Attorneys Help
Our family handles every stage of your car accident claim, from the first phone call to the courtroom.
Investigating the Crash
We gather the crash report, witness accounts, photos, and, when needed, reconstruction experts to establish what really happened.
UM/UIM Claims
If the other driver is uninsured, underinsured or disappeared, we will seek the coverage you purchased on your own policy.
Dealing With the Insurance Company
All adjuster calls, letters, and requests are filtered through us so nothing you say can be used to minimize your claim.
Negotiating Your Settlement
We push back on lowball offers with evidence, and you never sign a release until the number is right.
Calculating Your Full Damages
We work with your doctors to value the future care and lost earning ability the crash will cost you, as well as the bills already on your table.
Filing Suit and Trial
If the insurance company doesn't offer fair compensation, we file a lawsuit within the two-year deadline and present your case to a jury.
A few details matter more than people think. Medical records from that first visit tie your injuries to the crash date, and the crash report captures the other driver's insurance, the officer's diagram, and any citations, all of which help prove fault. Save dashcam footage before it gets recorded over, and do not treat a quick check or
the adjuster's first estimate as final. Evidence fades much faster than the two-year deadline, and a lawyer can deal with the insurance companies while you focus on
getting well.
Three generations of our attorneys have done this work, and it costs nothing up front: we charge no fee unless we win your case.
Hurt in a Crash While Driving for Work?
If your crash happened while you were driving for your job, you may have two claims: an Ohio Workers' Comp claim and this personal injury claim against the at-fault driver. We handle both under one roof.
Your Workers' Comp Claim
No-fault, runs through the BWC
Covers your medical care and part of your lost wages, no matter who caused the crash.
Your Personal Injury Claim
Against the at-fault driver
Adds the pain and suffering and the rest of the lost wages that Workers' Comp does not pay.
The two claims are connected. The BWC has a right to be repaid out of your recovery for part of what it spent on your claim, and we bargain that down so you keep more. When one firm handles both claims, the two insurers cannot play them against each other, and we plan the timing of each settlement so that one check does not shrink what you keep from the other.
Related Workplace Injuries We Handle
Our family also handles these related personal injury cases for injured Ohioans.
Semi and commercial truck crashes, where federal rules and bigger policies change the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
About Car Accidents in Ohio
