Legal Question in Personal Injury in Ohio
My boyfriend was injured on private property owned by a non-profit organization a few days ago. He is a member of the organization and was invited to a Summer Event to perform music with his band. This event was open to the public and an F permit to sell alcohol was pulled.
Because this was a fund raising event, the bands were not paid for their services. The organizer of the event (an Officer of the organization) said that the members of all bands performing could have unlimited beer in lieu of monetary payment. Because they did not have the type of beer that my boyfriend drank, the organizer told him to go to the club to get the beer that he drinks to put in his cooler and use the ice machine to ice it down to make it cold. She sent him to the club on a trailer pulled by a John Deer mower/tractor driven by a boy of about 16 years old. They went up to the club and got the beer and ice and put it in the back of the trailer with my boyfriend. The young boy was goofing around and driving irratically. My boyfriend told him to stop goofing and to be serious to ensure his safe return. As the boy was coming down the left side of a hill on the property - he was driving too fast. He made a quick left hand turn at the bottom of the hill not noticing that my boyfriend that was in the trailer behind was still on the slope. The trailer toppled with my boyfriend in it and he hit the ground hard. He could not get up due to the pain that he was feeling in his lower back and legs. Of course, we immediately called the paramedics who took him to the hospital. He had not had any alcoholic beverages and was not drunk.
He now has been in the hospital for three days with multiple fractures in his pelvic bone. He may need surgery. He is self employed and does not have health insurance. According to the doctors, he may have chronic pain resulting from this injury indefinately.
I am sure that the organization has business and property insurance. Would this type of injury qualify for a claim and if so - how should we proceed to make a claim for this injury? I know where they are insured. Should I go directly to the Insurance Company and if so - should I be careful of what I say to them to ensure that the claim will be paid? He will have a very large hospital bill, cannot work for his recovery period and may never be the same again. Any help on this matter will be greatly appreciated.
1 Answer from Attorneys
This is a very interesting fact situation that reads like a law school exam question. First of all get a good injury lawyer. There are potentially several causes of action against several potential defendants including the owner of the property, the company or persons pulling the permit, the driver of the tractor and whoever entrusted tht tractor to him, the organizer of the event and possibly others. There also would me several insurance companies pointing fingers at each other. Since the victim has such a serious injury and this claim is likely worth a significant amount of money it is very unlikely that an insurance company is simply going to pay the value of this case without putting up a fight. You might be able to get a few thousand dollars on your own but without an attorney who knows what he or she is doing you will never recover the full value of this case. I've handled several cases arising out of injuries at special events like concerts and festivals and I am very familiar with the various layers of insurance and how the parties try to shift potential responsibility through insurance contracts, indemnification agreements etc. Please feel free to call me to discuss this case. I urge you to act quickly because evidence, witnesses and memories tend to disappear in a hurry in these types of cases.
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