Personal Injury Lawyer in Brecksville, Ohio
Robert G. Stiefvater reviews personal injury claims at Stiefvater Law, LLC, 8748 Brecksville Road, Suite 225, Brecksville, Ohio 44141. Call (216) 867-0429. Not every file is accepted.
Get medical care. Do not give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement. For most Ohio injury claims, a lawsuit has to be filed within two years of the injury.
Limited Clients. Proven Results.
What should you do after a crash?
See a doctor. Photograph the cars, the intersection, and the injuries you can see. Write down names. Keep every bill, discharge sheet, and work note. Tell your own insurer what the policy requires.
Bring the crash report, the photos, and any court date or BMV paper. Robert Stiefvater looks at liability, coverage, and the medical course before a file is accepted. If it is not a fit, or the calendar is full, you hear that early.
Should you talk to the other insurance company?
Give your name and contact information if you have to. Do not guess fault. Do not guess how hurt you are. The first adjuster call is there to record you and close the file cheap.
Call (216) 867-0429 before a recorded statement if you are unsure.
Is the traffic ticket the injury claim?
No. A citation in Berea, Lakewood, Parma, or Garfield Heights is a separate case. The injury claim is the treatment, the bills, the lost work, and what the insurance file will pay. Say so if both are already open.
What injury files are reviewed?
Most calls from Brecksville, Broadview Heights, North Royalton, Independence, Strongsville, and nearby are crashes: rear-ends, left turns, lane changes, parking-lot impacts, and motorcycle or pedestrian cases when the facts support them.
A fall on someone else’s property is reviewed the same way. Who had the duty, did they know about the condition, what is the injury, and what are the damages.
Unusual facts belong on the call. The fee on an accepted injury file is discussed before you hire. There is no consultation fee to start that conversation.
What if you were partly at fault?
Ohio still allows a claim when your share of the fault is 50 percent or less. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage. If your share is more than 50 percent, the claim is barred. Do not guess your percentage from the other driver’s story.
How long do you have to file?
For most bodily-injury claims in Ohio, the lawsuit deadline is two years from the date of the injury, under R.C. 2305.10. Some claims are shorter. A claim involving a city or another government body can have added rules. Waiting because the adjuster seemed agreeable is how a claim gets smaller.
Longer plain-language Ohio guides on crashes, recorded statements, insurance layers, and slip-and-fall notice are on InjuryAccident.co. That site is not Stiefvater Law. The two-year deadline is stated above.
What if someone died?
When a death is caused by someone’s wrongful act, neglect, or default, such as a negligent crash, Ohio law allows a wrongful-death claim (R.C. 2125.01; parties and damages in R.C. 2125.02). It is not the same file as the injured person’s own medical bills. It can also open a probate estate.
Say both on the first call. The two-year injury deadline and the wrongful-death deadline are not always the same clock.
What is the claim actually made of?
Medical bills, lost income, and the way the injury changed ordinary life. Property damage is usually the simple part. A soft-tissue case still needs consistent treatment notes. A serious injury needs the treating doctors to finish the course. Closing early leaves later treatment out of the file.
Dollar results and verdict lists are not part of this practice. A number from someone else’s case does not decide yours. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What happens after the file is accepted?
Records, bills, wage proof, and letters to the insurers. A lawsuit when the file requires one. You will be asked what the doctor said after each visit. Details disappear when those updates stop.
Sometimes one event is two matters: a crash and a citation, or a death that later needs probate. Say what is already open.
Will every injury call be taken?
No. Robert G. Stiefvater is in solo practice. He has been an Ohio attorney since 2003. The firm dates to 2009. The office is in Brecksville. People also call from Garfield Heights, Parma, Berea, Bedford, Rocky River, and Lakewood.
Call (216) 867-0429 or use the contact form.