Juvenile driver in Ohio= accident

[Bobby815]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

My daughter was involved in an auto accident in June of 2005. She was 17 at the time and has since turned 18. Fortunately the drivers of both vehicles survived, the other driver was injured more severly. After arriving at the scene of the accident my wife went with the ems with our daughter and I stayed to arrange for tow truck and to get our vehicles back home. My conversation with the Ohio Highway Patrol ( accident investigator that was called in) was trying to determine fault and his explanation to me was that pending direct conversation with the drivers, he had difficulty in determining fault. In a nutshell, time passes, months go by with no one being cited. Our insurance company claim representative is of course in communication with the Patrol and the information given them is that fault is not determined. This, then leaves the insurance companies to figure out fault. Since the time of the accident, my daughter, has no memory of what happened. She suffered a pretty good concussion. Now for the question to which I ask for some thought and advice. On approx. the 158 day after the accident she is asked to come to the police station because " We need to clean up some year end paperwork" (12-30-05) and just would like to ask a few questions. Needless to say a ticket for failure to control was issued. I have found out that there is a 6 month statute of limitation for this particular, but I am curious about what are the statute of limitations on issuing tickets of lessor charges. In juvenile court we denied the allegations and now face a pre trial. Any thoughts out there? Thanks

[sukharev]

How did the other driver describe the accident? Was there any indication your daughter was indeed at fault?

[Bobby815]

Thanks for replying Sukharev. The driver of the other vehicle obtained a lawyer and he would not allow her to talk to anyone for an extended period of time. Highway patrol included. I think that this and my daughter's lack of memory fustrated the investigation. Recently the other driver released her version of the accident and she blamed my daughter for driving left of center. The accident occured on a sharp curve that had a lot of trees blocking vision for both directions. Personally I am not qualified to make a decision, but as a parent the possibility of civil action could involve me. Right after the accident, in a discussion with a lawyer, he felt that the daughter would be charged with driving left of center, if she was determined to be at fault. Insurance liability coverage is not a problem, since the coverage for our daughter is quite extensive. The general thinking of all involved is that the attorney for the other driver complained enough to the patrol, to cause them to pursue the matter further. My daughter in the last meeting with them responded with the truth, that she does not remember the accident. My curiosity what are the limitations regarding traffic violations on the issuance of tickets. The juvenile system here allows a first time traffic offender to meet with an officer of the court, but only allows an acceptance of the allegation or a denial. Of course they offer just a minor slap on the wrist for saying I agree. To deny requires apparently a pre trial and more. Of course with much enhanced penalties. Given possibile lawsuits you have no choice but to say no. Yes and before everyone says hire a lawyer, which we will in time, money still doesn't grow on trees in my backyard, I am just looking for some thoughts. This is a very interesting site and thanks for the imput

[sukharev]

My heart goes out to you and your daughter. My opinion is you need a good lawyer. As for the ticket itself, no big deal, but if the other driver is accumulating lots of bills and they exceed your liability limit, you are in big trouble. When you go to court, it may help to have a statement from the doctor verifying the temporary amnesia state, that's a lot better than taking your word for it. Good luck.

[Bobby815]

Again thanks for your advice. Policy limits should not be a concern, but then in this day and age who knows. To a certain degree I am in a quandry at to why I cannot find simple information on the internet as to the Ohio Revised Code pertaining the statute of limitations on issuing a traffic citation. Hiring a good lawyer withstanding, why is this so difficult. The little informantion I could find is the Ohio Surpreme court established a provsion that allows counties to form a Juvenile Traffic Violations bureau, but does not allow juveniles access to an informal hearing before an "officer of the court" if the traffic citation involves an accident. Which is what happened, but yet that is exactly what they offered as a way to remediate the charge.

[poohmantbb]

Not that I know for sure, but i believe (at least in Oregon), the SOL for a traffic ticket is either 6 months or a year. A lawyer would know for sure. Also, the fact that the incident was under investigation may have some type of effect.