People rely on Ohio’s emergency responders to protect them, tend to their wounds and save their lives. The problem is that sometimes, the emergency responders are the ones that create the danger those innocent people face. Emergency vehicles sometimes cause car accidents on route to calls, and some of them are fatal.
Back in Nov. 2013, a woman’s vehicle was in or entering an intersection when an emergency vehicle entered the intersection at the same time. The two vehicles collided. The woman ended up passing away due to the injuries she suffered in that crash. Her son alleged that the fire truck did not have its lights or sirens on when it entered the intersection and filed a wrongful death claim against the city of Columbus.
The firefighter involved in the incident ultimately admitted that he probably did not enter the intersection in a safe manner, which led to the accident. He says that he sounded the truck’s horn in short bursts before entering the intersection against a red light. The city decided that it would be better to settle the claim for $410,000 rather than go to trial.
Five years after the death of his mother, this man received some justice for his mother. Car accidents involving local or state governments here in Ohio may take longer to resolve, but that does not mean that victims — or their family members in the case of death — should forgo their rights to pursue restitution. Before embarking on such a claim, it might be beneficial to discuss the matter with an attorney to determine what the best course of action would be under the circumstances.
