Columbus Ohio Personal Injury Law Blog

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently cited two U.S. Postal Service facilities in both Kansas and Ohio for safety violations.

The USPS processing center in Dayton, Ohio, was cited for numerous OSHA violations, including three alleged willful and serious violations. As a result, the Postal Service in Ohio faces "a total of $225,000 in fines for electrical and equipment hazards following an OSHA inspection conducted in response to employee complaints."

OHSA's inspection of the Ohio facility began in April 2010, when the agency found that the postal service "failed to provide adequate safety training, ensure that workers followed safety-related work practices while working on electrical equipment, provide workers will appropriate personal protective equipment and provide proper lockout/tagout training."

A four-car accident has claimed the life of one Ohio Man and injured three others on Monday in Parkman Township.

The multi-car accident occurred around 5:52 a.m. near the intersection of Route 528 and Farley Road. The car accident occurred when a Buick Regal, driven by a 43-year-old Ohio man, strayed left of the center line on Route 528. As a result, the vehicle struck a Dodge Ram 3500 that was traveling in the opposite direction. That collision caused the Ram to be forced into the northbound lanes and was struck by a Jeep Liberty. The Jeep collided with the Ram on the passenger side door. In addition, a Ford F-150 that was traveling in the same direction of the Jeep attempted to avoid the crash and eventually ended up hitting the trailer being hauled by the Ram Truck.

The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration(NHTSA) is investigating gas tanks on Jeep Grand Cherokees covering 3 million vehicles from model years 1993 to 2004.  The gas tank's position below the rear bumper and behind the rear axle could cause fuel to spill if the SUV were struck from behind.

Clarence Ditlow, head of the Center for Auto Safety, has gone on record saying "this is a terrible design".  NHTSA has found 44 Grand Cherokee crashes and 55 deaths since 1992 where fire was reported as the most harmful factor. 

The automaker moved the tank's position after the 2994 model.  Please visit our website to find out more about our firm, Vickery, Riehl, & Alter and our record of protecting victims' rights in Ohio.

A tragedy recently occurred on the roads of Ohio during the Pelotonia bike ride.  Pelotonia is a grass roots campaign that raises money for cancer research at the Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital.  Last year in 2009 the event raised 4.5 million dollars with all proceeds going directly for research.

In this years event, over four thousand riders enrolled all pledging to raise funds based upon their distance travelled.  One such rider, Michelle Kazlausky, an employee of Ohio State University Hospital East, was struck by a driver of a pick-up truck and killed.  A law enforcement officer of the Ohio State Highway Patrol was directing traffic at the intersection and signaled for the driver of the pick-up to stop and yield to the bikers.  The pick-up driver did not obey his signal and struck Ms. Kazlausky.

The driver of the pick-up claimed that his failure to stop was the result of his brakes failing.  Whether or not this allegation is true, failure of any braking system is not a legal excuse for his failure to comply.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Michelle Kazlausky.  She lost her life needlessley in support of a cause that affects so many.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol continuously patrols the state's highways on the lookout for speeders and drunk drivers, but now another type driver is being targeted amidst a couple recent truck accidents: sleepy drivers. In the wake of a couple truck accidents, one fatal, on the Ohio Turnpike, authorities are attempting to identify individuals that are driving on little sleep or have fallen asleep behind the wheel to avoid future accidents caused by truck drivers. According to authorities, "people too tired behind the wheel are the most dangerous drivers on the road. Some are comparable to a drunk driver with a blood alcohol level of nearly twice the legal limit."

Last Monday, a Mack truck pulling three trailers slammed into the rear of a Ford Focus on Interstate 80 in Streetsboro. The Focus caught fire and was engulfed in flames. The driver of the Focus died on the scene and her sons were critically injured in the truck accident. The driver of the truck told authorities following the crash that he had fallen asleep behind the wheel. Authorities expressed that had the driver stopped at a service station and taken a break or a 30-minute nap, the driver could have saved a life. Charges are pending against the driver in this crash.

Motorcycle accidents have a higher fatality rate per unit of distance travelled when compared with automobiles.  According to the NHTSA, in 2006 18.06 cars out of 100,000 ended up in fatal crashes.  The rate for motorcycles is 55.82 per 100,000.

Approximately 80 percent of reported motorcycle crashes result in injury or death; a comparable figure for automobiles is about 20 percent.

In vehicular/motorcycle crashes, the driver of the other vehicle violated the motorcycle right-of-way and caused the accident in two-thirds of those accidents.  The failure of motorists to detect and recognize motorcycles in traffic is the predominating cause of motorcycle accidents.

On August 19, 2010 Mark Neal, a highly respected court reporter for the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, was struck by a motorist travelling the wrong way on a one-way street.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family for a speedy recovery.

The firm of Vickery, Riehl & Alter has successfully represented motorcycle accident victims for injuries ranging from death to serious amputation.  In each case, the defense always raises the issue of speed of the cyclist as a way to avoid liablity and place blame where it rarely belongs.  Please visit our website to review our multiple awards and settlements associated with motorcycle cases. 

During the summer months when motorcycles are in abundance over the roadways in central Ohio, please remeber to look twice and save a life.

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently removed 109 commercial bus and truck drivers as a result of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) annual drug and alcohol strike force sweep from June 21 through July 2. Nearly 175 carriers face fines and enforcement actions due to FMCSA violations.

During the FMCSA's two week investigation, FMCSA looked at the drug and alcohol safety records of commercial drivers employed by bus and truck companies, including bus drivers, interstate passenger carriers, hazardous material transporters and general freight long-haul trucking companies. FMCSA's intention was to identify those carriers who are violating federal drug and alcohol testing policies and remove those drivers who jump from carrier to carrier in an attempt to evade federal drug and alcohol testing and reporting requirements.

A Utah-based bus operator, who was involved in a deadly crash in Utah that killed three members of a Japanese tour group and injured 11 others, is being investigated for several violations including operation of fleet vehicles across state lines without a proper license and other driver log book-related violations. Canyon Transportation Inc., of Salt Lake City, faces fines that could significantly affect the company if the company did not have enough liability insurance for interstate truck operation.

According to the Associated Press, Canyon Transportation fell through the "regulatory cracks" and was allowed to transport people from Salt Lake City's airport to local ski areas and was not suppose to cross state lines. They operated a 2006 Ford E350 shuttle bus that picks up passengers from the airport as a service.