Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima
Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima

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$7 Million Settlement Delivery Truck Accident

A man was seriously injured when a teenage delivery driver was not paying attention to the road and struck our client as he was removing luggage from the trunk of his vehicle after he pulled over to the side of the road. By engaging accident reconstruction experts, a lighting expert, and a nationally recognized lifecare planner we were able to show the full extent of our client’s brain injury and future impairment. The insurance company tendered its full policy limit of $7,000,000

$7 Million Settlement Tractor Trailer Accident

A man was seriously injured after his vehicle was violently struct by a tractor trailer. By vigorously investigating the case and working with experts, we proved the liability of the truck driver and extent of our client’s injuries.

$6 Million Settlement Truck Driver At-Fault for Wrongful Death of Local Veteran

We represented a local family whose son, an army veteran, was killed by a drunk driver that was driving a work vehicle. The drunk driver’s employer had a six-million-dollar insurance policy that covered both the company and the driver. The insurance company initially offered to pay only one million dollars. Once our firm entered the case and filed suit, however, the insurance company paid the six-million-dollar policy.

$5 Million Settlement Truck Driver At-Fault for Wrongful Death

A family lost a loving husband and father when a truck driver acted carelessness and needlessly endangered the lives of all Ohio drivers. The insurance company that insured the truck explored numerous avenues to escape its responsibility to pay the full value of the case. After several depositions, a video that included testimony from our client’s grieving wife and children, several expert reports, and a surveillance video that was uncovered showing the true facts surrounding the crash, the case was settled for $5,000,000.

$4.85 Million Settlement Approved for family of man killed by police during traffic stop

We represented the Administrator of the Estate of an African American motorist who was gunned down by a white police officer during a routine traffic stop. The traffic stop was initiated by the officer because Mr. Dubose was missing a front license plate, which in Ohio carried only a $100 fine. Within seconds of encountering Mr. Dubose, the officer shot him after violating several police policies, including reaching into the vehicle to try and take Mr. Dubose’s keys. The case received tremendous local and national media attention. Our attorneys helped to secure a $4,850,000 settlement on behalf of Mr. Dubose’s 13 children, parents, and siblings and were the primary architects for how the settlement proceeds would be divided amongst the beneficiaries. The Hamilton County Probate Court adopted nearly all of the recommendations made by our attorneys.

$3.5 Million Settlement Truck Accident

A commercial vehicle failed to yield in traffic and rear-ended our client. Our client suffered extensive injuries and significant emotional trauma. A settlement was reached with the commercial entity’s insurance company for $3.5 million.

$3 Million Settlement Landscape Truck

A young boy was killed after a landscape truck ran him over in the street. The insurance company claimed the child “darted out” in front of the driver. We established the company failed to follow commercial trucking safety regulations and reconstructed the crash which prompted a settlement for the full policy limits of $3 million.

$2.8 Million Settlement Semi Truck Crash

A young man was driving with his father in a small car on a local highway. A tractor-trailer driver made a lane change without checking his fender mirror. Fender mirrors on tractor trailers reveal blind spots that door mirrors will not show. Truck drivers must always look in both a door mirror and a fender mirror before each lane change. The crash killed the young man’s father. The semi-truck company tried to blame the young man for his own father’s death. Following depositions and a mediation, the case settled for $2.8 million.

$2.5 Million Settlement Disputed Liability Truck Wreck

A truck driver was horrifically injured when he was struck by a tractor trailer after he had moved his disable truck to the shoulder of the road. Liability was disputed by the driver who struck our client, but video surveillance revealed that our client was not at fault and we soon settled with insurance for $2.5 million.

$2 Million Settlement Truck Accident

A woman suffered a serious brain injury when a tractor-trailer struck her vehicle. Worried that liability would be disputed, her family retained us the day of the crash. As a result of being hired promptly, we were able to secure video of the crash, obtain multiple witnesses’ statements, map the crash scene, download the electronic data from our client’s vehicle, and inspect the tractor-trailer almost immediately. By acting quickly, we were able to show the insurance company that the truck driver was solely at fault. 140 days after being retained, we secured a $2 million policy limits settlement for our client.

$2 Million Settlement Truck Wreck

A father of three was violently killed when a steel coil that had not been properly secured to a tractor trailer came off the trailer and crushed the father’s vehicle. Liability was clear and we settled this case for $2 million.

$1.25 Million Settlement Truck Accident

A young girl was injured in a car wreck after the driver of that vehicle pulled out in front of a truck that was driving without its trailer, also called “bobtailing.” We settled this case for $1.25 million.

$1 Million Settlement Truck Driver At-Fault for Motorcycle Crash

We represented a young woman that was riding her motorcycle from one job to another when she was struck from behind by a tractor trailer that fled the scene. We aggressively investigated the case, tracked down the at-fault company, and uncovered the one-million-dollar insurance policy that covered both the company and the driver. We secured the full million-dollar policy for the client.

$1 Million Settlement Truck Driver At-Fault for Wrongful Death

A woman was driving to her birthday dinner when a tractor trailer failed to stop at a stop sign and violently struck her car. The truck driver and insurance company disputed liability, but when we discovered the truck’s speedometer frozen at 40 mph from the moment of impact, the insurance company paid out the full insurance policy.

$1 Million Settlement Tractor Trailer Accident

A woman was driving when a tractor trailer crossed the median line on the road and crashed into her vehicle head-on. She suffered significant facial lacerations and injuries as a result of the crash. Liability was clear and we settled the case for $1 million.

$1 Million Settlement Tractor Trailer Accident

A woman was killed after a tractor trailer failed to stop at a stop sign. Liability was disputed as the trucking company argued that the truck driver did in fact stop and that our client’s wife was driving 20 miles over the speed limit at the time of the crash.

$825,000 Settlement in Disputed-Liability Wrongful Death Tractor Trailer Crash

A woman was driving to work when her car broke down on the road. She turned on her hazard lights and attempted to exit her vehicle for help. As she was doing so, she was struck by a van. The driver of the van disputed liability, but we diligently fought and established the van driver was at-fault.

$800,000 Settlement Semi-Truck Rear-End Crash

Our client and her husband were passengers in a vehicle that was rear-ended on the highway by a tractor trailer. Our client suffered a closed head injury. Despite the traumatic brain injury, it was difficult for the defendants to understand the harm they had caused because our client looked and acted healthy. People who knew her prior to the crash understood her injuries. The case settled before trial for $800,000.

$700,000 Settlement Pennsylvania Tractor Trailer Crash

A truck and car collided in a head-on collision on a two-lane road in Pennsylvania. The truck driver claimed our client came into his lane before swerving back to his own lane. The toxicology report indicated our client had marijuana in his blood and the black box data showed that his speed was roughly twenty miles per hour over the speed limit. Our accident reconstructionist report indicated the truck was at-fault for the crash despite the marijuana in our client’s system and our client’s speed. The case settled for $700,000.

$7.9 Million Jury Verdict for Brain Injury

After this case was turned down by a well-known and accredited law firm for seeming “unwinnable,” we took the case on to represent an eighteen-year-old who suffered a life-long brain injury. We turned the case around from the client receiving no offers from defendants to a $7.9 Million Jury Verdict at trial.

$6.9 Million Jury Verdict Against OB/GYN

In this five day trial, we represented a women who was negligently told to stop taking her blood thinners by her doctor who then evaded her calls and did not tell her when to restart. As a result, she had a massive embolic stroke, leaving her unable to walk, unable to talk, and incontinent.

$5.4 Million Jury Verdict in Northern Kentucky Federal Court

Young RN went for a light chemical peel prior to having her wedding soon to be photos taken. Compound pharmacist who would compound the acid for this surgeon attended a Texas seminar where he was told to mix acid weight to weight not volume to volume. The advice caused the acid to be highly potent and caused 3rd degree burns all over her entire face. Had to wear a full-face pressure mask 24/7/365. Very small offer prior to trial. Patient had more than two years of treatment and was thankfully able to overcome and have a wonderful life.

$2.1 Million Settlement Nursing Home Error

A loving mother and wife was in a nursing home when she suffered a life altering injury as a result of a nursing home employee’s failure to properly secure her in a transport vehicle. She passed away several months later at a local hospital due to other complications. Three insurance companies and policies agreed to pay their maximum policy limits on the case which totaled $2,100,000.

$1.6 Million Settlement Dilaudid Overdose Mistake By Hospital

A middle aged married woman was being monitored in the post anesthesia recovery unit (PACU) following a surgery when the staff improperly doubled the ordered dose of Dilaudid. Her physicians ordered 0.5 mg of the powerful opioid medication but the nurses administered 1.0 mg on three separate occasions. The PACU then failed to properly monitor her oxygen levels over several hours. Oxygen levels dropped from 100% to 85% and oxygen saturation was 73% with a blood pressure of 66/48 causing permanent brain damage. The case settled after a lawsuit was filed and depositions were taken for $1.6 million.

$1.5 Million Verdict For Malpractice of Neurosurgeon

No offer before verdict which was in 2020. Defendant doctor poorly performed spine surgery resulting in limited mobility and ongoing pain. Five-day trial.

$1 Million Settlement Dental Malpractice

Our client was tragically killed as a result of an error made by a technician at a dentist office. The case settled for $1,000,000.

$1 Million Settlement Pain Pill Overdose

A forty-year-old husband and father of three died of an opioid overdose after his doctor prescribed him pain medication for over fourteen years. The defendants blamed the man and his wife for his own death and also claimed he died of a heart attack rather than acute overdose. The case settled for $1 million before trial.

$1 Million Jury Verdict After Zero Offer

A woman went to a GI institute in Northern Kentucky for a routine colonoscopy. In her pre-procedure preparation, she suffered an IV extravasation at the hands of a nurse who was pushing D50. The extravasation caused lifelong pain, numbness and reduced use of her hand. Despite years of litigation, the defense made no settlement offer before the jury trial. Lindsay Lawrence and Charlie Rittgers did not present any economic loss at trial. In 2023 a Kenton County Kentucky jury returned a verdict of $1 million which was exclusively a non-economic verdict.

$15 Million Verdict Construction Zone Accident

Following a summary jury trial in federal court, the jury returned a verdict of $15,000,000 in total damages and 40% comparative fault for a seriously injured man we represented who was injured while riding through a roadwork construction zone and blamed for his own injuries. The verdict was reduced to $9,000,000 because of Ohio’s comparative fault laws and the case settled confidentially the morning following the trial.

$1 Million Settlement Motorcycle Crash

A young man lost his leg below the knee when a pick-up truck pulled into his lane of travel. Our client was accused of driving without a headlamp on his motorcycle which could have caused or contributed to the crash. Charlie M. Rittgers searched a nearby soy bean field with a treasure hunting expert he hired who brought a metal detector. They found the headlamp and settled the case for the insurance policy limits of $1 million shortly thereafter.

$725,000 Settlement Motorcycle Injury Due to Negligent Hiring

A man riding his motorcycle suffered facial injuries and a broken leg after pizza delivery car disregarded traffic laws and crashed into him. The local pizza restaurant had negligently hired a driver with a history of at-fault car crashes.

$600,000 Settlement Motorcycle Injury

A man was severely injured with injuries to his face and leg as a result of a motorcycle crash where the driver of a SUV who failed to yield while making an improper left turn. We settled with the SUV-driver’s insurance company for $600,000.

$350,000 Settlement Motorcycle Accident

A grandfather was driving the speed limit and following all the safety laws while driving his motorcycle with his granddaughter. Another driver rolled a stop sign and pulled in front of the motorcycle, killing the granddaughter and severely injuring the grandfather. Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima represented the grandfather and settled his case for $350,000; the granddaughter’s case settled for $1.1 million.

$250,000 Settlement Motorcycle Accident

A man was injured as a result of a motorcycle crash when the driver of an SUV failed to yield to the motorcycle. The case settled for the maximum recovery under the at-fault driver’s auto insurance, $250,000.

$240,000 Settlement Drunk Driver Strikes Motorcyclist

Our client was riding his motorcycle on I-71 when a female driver who was impaired as a result of pain medications rear-ended his motorcycle. Our client suffered serious road rash and other injuries. He returned to work quickly despite the pain and other than scarring from road rash he has recovered from his injuries. We settled his case for $240,000.

$7.5 Million Dog Bite Bench Verdict

After a little girl was mauled by two pit bulls and had to undergo dozens of facial reconstruction surgeries, we represented her mother in a lawsuit against the dogs’ owner. The offense was so heinous that the overseeing Judge quickly awarded $7.5 million to the girl and her mother.

$3 Million Verdict Slip And Fall

Our client 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. Surveillance video confirmed that a casino employee walked by the sign, without picking it up, eleven seconds before our client fell. It was the Casino’s position that the fall was solely our client’s fault. A Hamilton County jury disagreed finding that the sign was not open and obvious under the circumstances, that the Casino was 100% at fault and delivered a verdict of $3 million.

$2.75 Million Settlement Child Injured During Sporting Event

A young child’s life was changed forever after a head injury at a sporting event. Facing an uphill battle because of numerous laws that restricted the chance of recovery, the case was resolved through a mediation that resulted in a $2,750,000 settlement that will be structured and guaranteed throughout our client’s life.

$2 Million Settlement for Wrongful Death

A hotel and spa failed to maintain and improperly advertised their premises were handicap friendly and safe for all guests. The property was in fact dangerous and created an unreasonable risk to business invitees. When this led to the death of an invitee, we filed suit and settled for $2 Million.

$1 Million Settlement Brain Injury – TBI

A man was injured while on the job at a store. After the injury, he and his wife consulted with two law firms. One refused to accept his case and the other was unable to get a settlement offer and dismissed his case. We got involved and settled the case for $1 million.

$1 Million Settlement Dog Bite

A woman was seriously injured when a dog bit her at a local business. We recovered the entire $1 million policy limit.

$1 Million Settlement for Dram Shop Liability

After a group of underage individuals were served alcohol at a restaurant without being asked for identification and the restaurant continued to provide alcohol when the minors were visibly intoxicated, the restaurant assumed liability and settled for $1 million after traumatic brain injuries resulted.

$1 Million Settlement Dram Shop

A young woman was injured after a local bar served a minor driver who left the bar and caused a car crash injuring more than five people. We were the only lawyers who pursued the bar and recovered the entire $1 million policy limit.

$525,000 Dram Shop Settlement

We settled a case against two bars for overserving an intoxicated individual. Because this individual was overserved, they suffered extensive injuries.

$500,000 Settlement Golf Course Injury

A man was injured on a golf course. Despite difficult liability, we were able to settle the case for $500,000.

$500,000 Dog Bite Settlement

After a young woman suffered facial injuries from a dog bite and required over one hundred stitches, we quickly settled with the dog owner’s insurance for policy limits of $500,000.

$425,000 Dog Bite Settlement

We represented a family whose son was attacked by a neighbor’s dog while the boy was trick-or-treating for Halloween. Although his family only suffered $5,000 in medical expenses, we settled the case for $425,000.

$385,000 Verdict Slip and Fall

A 78-year-old woman was injured when she tripped and fell over a cement parking block outside a condominium complex. A jury awarded our client $385,000 for her closed head injury.

$325,000 Dog Bite Settlement

We represented a mother whose child was viciously attacked by a neighbor’s dog. All parties lived in the same apartment complex, but the dog’s owner had no renter’s insurance to cover the child’s medical expenses and facial scarring from the attack. We pursued the landlord’s insurance policy and settled the case for $325,000.

$191,674 Verdict Slip and Fall

A 49-year-old over-the-road truck driver was injured when he stepped backwards in a sporting goods store after an employee directed him to look at a shelve which was above eye level. A loose barbell was on the floor just outside the aisle causing the man to fall and tear his rotator cuff. Facing a conservative jury in Campbell County, Kentucky the insurance company did not make any reasonable offers. Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima attorney Barb Strady, with co-counsel, took the case to a jury trial and received a verdict that included $52,125.18 for past medical expenses, $9,549.04 for past lost wages, $90,000.00 for past mental and physical pain and suffering, and $40,000.00 for future mental and physical pain and suffering. The award totaled $191,674.22 and was reduced by 15% for comparative fault.

$147,270 Arbitration Nursing Home Negligence

A 61-year-old woman was in a nursing home after a surgery for a ruptured cerebral aneurysm and for subsequent respiratory failure when she fell forward from her wheel chair and struck her head on the floor. As a result, she suffered an acute subdural hematoma that took her life. The nursing home denied any wrongdoing and the case was forced into binding arbitration through a clause in the contract the family had signed with the nursing home. Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima lawyer Eric Allen handled the arbitration. After arbitration, the nursing home was found to be liable and ordered to pay $147,270.

$1.25 Million Car Crash Settlement

We settled a car crash case for $1.25 million when our client was significantly injured after another driver failed to adhere to basic traffic laws.

$1.028 Million Jury Verdict

Our client suffered a shoulder tear that required multiple surgeries after a car crash. When the insurance carrier disputed liability and damages, we took the case to trial. At trial our client was given a $1.028 Million verdict in their favor.

$825,000 Verdict Car/Pedestrian Crash

A woman suffered a broken ankle with permanent injury after she was struck by a car while walking on the sidewalk. The at-fault driver’s insurance company offered only $125,000 to settle the case. Matt Nakajima and Lindsay Lawrence took the case to a jury trial in February 2021 in Warren County Ohio and received an $825,000 verdict.

$625,000 Settlement Car Crash

A couple was violently crashed into after a truck failed to stop at a red traffic light. The wife suffered a traumatic brain bleed and fractures to her legs, hips, ribs, and arm. The husband also suffered numerous injuries. We settled with the at fault driver’s insurance company for $625,000.

$625,000 Car Crash Settlement

Our client was violently rear-ended by a tow truck, which resulted in injuries to her tibia and pelvis. We reached a $625,000 settlement agreement after our client had healed remarkably well and suffered only $65,000 in damages.

$600,000 Verdict

Our client suffered a shoulder tear after being rear-ended in Warren County, Ohio. Our client’s insurance carrier disputed her shoulder injuries, arguing that it was not caused by the crash. At trial, our client was awarded $600,000 for her injuries.

$500,000 Settlement Car Crash

A mother and daughter were injured in a car accident. The mother suffered herniated discs and a broken wrist and the daughter broke both her femurs. The at-fault driver had insurance, as did our client. The maximum recovery under our client’s uninsured/underinsured policy was $500,000. The case settled for $500,000.

$3 Million Judgment

2021: On behalf of woman physically assaulted at bar when bouncers failed to properly search violent patron. (Latoya Luckey v. Nephews, LLC – Hamilton County, Ohio – A 2001544)

$1 Million Settlement

2020: Against Catholic diocese for sexual abuse of minor by priest. (John Doe v. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus – Franklin County, Ohio – 18CV-5724)

$800,000 Settlement

2022: Against Catholic Diocese for sexual abuse of minor perpetuated by priest.

$500,000 Settlement

2021: Against Catholic diocese and high school for abuse perpetuated on minor by teacher and coach.

$350,000 Jury Verdict

2019: For minor sexually abused by adult family friend (M.P. v. Judd Ellinger – Fairfield County, Ohio – 2017 cv 62)

$200,000 Settlement

2022: In civil rights case on behalf of two brothers who were unlawfully detained and subjected to excessive force by local police officer and department

$200,000+ Settlement

2021: In civil rights case involving claims on behalf of group of students hazed on school trip by upperclassmen

$150,000 Settlement

2019: In civil rights case on behalf of client unlawfully detained, arrested, and charged by local police officer.

Confidential Settlement Wrongful Death

Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima has successfully orchestrated multiple multimillion-dollar wrongful death settlements under confidentiality agreements but the confidentiality agreements prohibit us from disclosing the details of the case.

$4.85 Million Settlement

Our firm represented a man and his family after he was violently gunned down during a routine traffic stop. The offending police officer had violated multiple police policies. Our firm helped secure a $4,850,000 settlement for the man’s thirteen children, parents, and siblings. In the process of trying this case, the Hamilton County Probate Court adopted nearly all of the recommendations made by our attorneys.

$2.1 Million Settlement Drowning Death

A seven-year-old boy drowned at a members only organization pool as a result of poor staffing and inattentive lifeguards. The case settled for $2.1 million dollars.

Confidential Settlement Truck Crash Wrongful Death

A thirty-eight-year-old mother was killed when a semi-truck carrying steel for AK Steel failed to yield at an intersection in Middletown. The truck driver was cited for Failure to Yield and Vehicular Manslaughter. The case settled confidentially without a trial.

$7 Million Settlement Brain damage

A man suffered permanent brain damage after being struck by a delivery driver who was not paying attention to the roadway.

$3 Million Settlement Brain Injury

The victim sustained a hypoxic brain injury resulting from a near drowning.

$2.1 Million Settlement Brain Injury

The victim was in a car crash resulting in a frontal lobe brain injury.

$1.25 Million Settlement Two-vehicle collision

A young girl, who was a passenger in a vehicle, sustained a severe brain injury in a two-vehicle collision. The case settled for policy limits of $1.25 million.

$1.1 Million Settlement Moderate brain injury

A young woman suffered a moderate brain injury while riding as a passenger in a car being operated by an impaired driver. We collected policy limits from the at-fault driver, two underinsured motorists’ carriers and the policy limits from the bar that overserved the at-fault driver.

$1 Million Settlement Being hit on the head

A man suffered a brain injury after being hit on the head while on the job at a store. After the injury, he and his wife consulted with two law firms. One refused to accept his case and the other was unable to get a settlement offer and dismissed the case. We got involved and settled the case.

$1 Million Settlement Cranial nerve damage

A woman suffered cranial nerve damage after being bitten in the face by a dog. We successfully proved that our client suffered a brain injury as opposed to just a facial laceration and successfully recovered the $1 million policy limits.

$800,000 Settlement Closed head injury

Our client and her husband were passengers in a vehicle that was rear-ended on the highway by a tractor trailer. Our client suffered a closed head injury. Despite the traumatic brain injury, it was difficult for the defendants to understand the harm they had caused because our client looked and acted healthy. People who knew her prior to the crash understood her injuries. The case settled before trial for $800,000.

$475,000 settlement Mild traumatic brain injury

A teenager ran across a three-lane roadway against a do not walk sign and was hit by a car. As a result, the teenager suffered a mild traumatic brain injury. We were able to successfully prove that the driver was not paying attention to the roadway as he approached a school and recovered the remaining policy limits of $475,000.

$300,000 settlement Mild traumatic brain injury

The operator of a tractor trailer crashed into a vehicle in front of him that was stopped in the middle of the roadway, at night, with no lights on. As a result of the impact, our client suffered a mild traumatic brain injury amongst other injuries. After filing suit because of a liability dispute, we were able to resolve the case for the $300,000 policy limits

$560,000 Settlement Defamation/Slander

A father and his son were harmed as a result of malicious, false, and defamatory statements made by the father’s ex-wife and daughter. A jury awarded our clients $500,000 and the court awarded over $60,000 in attorney’s fees.