Ohio Legal Issues Blog

Recently, a gentleman called our office because his wife had fractured her arm in a boating accident. He said that he and his wife made a claim with Progressive Insurance Company and were assured by the Progressive adjuster that a fair settlement could be reached without the need for attorneys to be involved. Ultimately, Progressive offered to pay $5,000 for medical bills and 50,000 for her pain and suffering. He and his wife felt that the offer was fair, settled the claim with Progressive and signed paperwork releasing Progressive and the at fault person for any future claims.

Unfortunately, his wife's health insurance company paid $100,000 in medical bills and demanded to be paid out of the settlement proceeds. Progressive did not inform the man and his wife of their obligations to pay the health insurance company out of the settlement. The law in Ohio requires repayment of medical bills from settlements. Sadly, these people had already signed a settlement release which precluded their ability to obtain more money from Progressive to satisfy the health insurance company's lien. 

A sixty-nine-year-old woman, Lynda Sadowski, suffered a broken knee cap resulting in surgery after falling on a knocked down wet floor sign laying flat on a multi-colored floor inside of a Casino buffet. Surveillance video confirmed that, during the 90 seconds before Lynda fell, multiple other customers had run into the sign as they were distracted by a brightly lit dessert display while also trying to avoid walking into other patrons. The video also captured a casino employee walking by the sign, without picking it up, eleven seconds before Lynda fell. It was the Casino's position that the fall was solely Lynda's fault as the sign was an open and obvious danger.

The following is a step-by-step analysis showing how we helped a courageous woman after she suffered a life altering injury. 

Many of us love the thrill of the highs and lows of the amusement parks, carnivals, fairs or water parks. We love the rush of excitement we experience on every ride. But, do we think of the dangers or safety? Most of us do not. We assume regulations and standards are in place. 

Former critical care doctor, William Husel, was recently charged with murder for causing the deaths of twenty-five patients at Mount Carmel Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Husel plead not guilty and the criminal case remains pending.

Lawsuits - $4.5 million aggregate paid

Numerous families for the patients who were given excessive pain pill doses brought civil actions for the loss of loved ones. Media outlets report that settlements range from $200,000 to $700,000 and total settlement in aggregate is $4.5 million to-date.