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Car and truck accident at intersectiion.

Corporate greed, regulatory failures responsible for hundreds of deadly big rig accidents each year, BKM is fighting to make the roads safer by holding truckers accountable

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Attorney David Betras
BKM Managing Partner David Betras

Since MahoningMatters offered me the opportunity to grace their website with this column each week, I’ve addressed everything from COVID to corruption, distracted driving to democracy and dozens of topics in between. But if pressed to pick the most important subject I write about, is highlighting the role personal injury attorneys and the civil justice play in saving lives, preventing injuries, and making our nation and our world safer places to live, work, travel, and play would be numero uno on my list.  

Over the years I’ve shined a spotlight on exploding Pintos, Boeing’s fatally flawed Max 8, lethal medical devices and drugs, cigarettes, and myriad other products and practices that sowed carnage, death, and destruction across the land. As my regular readers know, there is a common thread that runs through these largely avoidable tragedies. They were all the result of corporate greed, cost-benefit analyses that placed corporate profits above the value of human life, regulatory failures, secrecy and lies, suppression and persecution of whistleblowers, as well as influence peddling and lobbying by business interests and trade groups.  

And there is one additional point of commonality: the human toll associated with each of these deplorable episodes: the number of people hurt and killed would have been exponentially higher if lawyers like me, my partners, and the other members of the trial bar had not taken on the difficult and expensive task of suing the largest corporations in the world and winning large settlements for victims and families that forced businesses to make products safer or remove them from the market altogether.

I’m revisiting the topic today because America’s Dangerous Trucks, a recent episode of PBS’ outstanding Frontline documentary series clearly shows that corporate greed and the other factors that have put Americans needlessly at risk for decades are at play in the trucking industry. The film opens at the side of the road near the spot where 16-year-old Riley Hein burned to death when his car slid under and was pinned beneath the back wheels of a 40” trailer.

After losing Riley, his father Hunter learned what we do in the course of the documentary:  Riley and the hundreds like him who perish in what are known as “underride” crashes each year did not have to die. Those killed include Marianne Karth’s daughters AnnaLeah and Mary who lost their lives when the car in which they were riding was pushed under one truck after being hit by another. In the wake of the tragedies the families found that the trucking industry had been battling against underride crash safety measures proposed by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) since 1981.

They also discovered that NHTSA, like the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which is responsible for aviation safety, is a captive agency controlled and dominated by the very industries it is charged with regulating and that NHTSA uses an economic formula to determine whether to impose new safety standards. If the cost equals more than $12.5 million for each life saved, it won’t be adopted. That’s the same type of cost-benefit analysis Lee Iacocca and Ford made when they decided to sell exploding Pintos.

I hope you share my disgust with the fact that the price of a human life was calculated by the government agency that is supposed to keep our highways safe rather than a profit-driven corporation. 

Which is not to say that the trucking industry and its trade group, the American Trucking Association (ATA) don’t have blood on their hands. Not only did they stop NHTSA from strengthening rear and side collision guards that would reduce the severity of underride crashes—a step that would add less than $250 to the cost of a trailer, they have kept truck safety legislation bottled up in Congress, and launched a successful campaign to convince state legislatures across the county to enact laws that will make it more difficult to hold truckers accountable for the deaths and injuries that occur when big rigs collide with passenger vehicles and motorcycles. Yes, it’s the big rig version of tort reform.

At the end of the film, we learn that the Hein’s sued the company that owned the truck that caused Riley’s death. In 2019 a jury awarded them $19 million—a figure that caught the attention of trailer makers and truckers, many of whom, in yet another demonstration of the power of the civil justice system, began installing improved rear and side underride guards.

Despite that important victory, Hunter Hein remains concerned. “You know, Riley was killed in 2015. We’re seven and a half years into this fight. It’s hard to just sit and watch and wait and hope that NHTSA will do the right thing. It’s really frustrating.”

“It’s very hard to get this agency to actually adhere to their mission to save lives. I mean, I’m an optimistic person, but I’m cautiously optimistic. I still think that the industry has a lot of power and a lot of undue influence with NHTSA. And it is incumbent, I think, upon all of us advocates and people that are very concerned about how many people are dying from side underride crashes to keep the pressure on NHTSA.”

I agree, and we should all demand that the agency free itself from the influence of the auto and trucking industries and begin to do its job.

Don’t let the clock run out: if you’ve been injured allowing the statute of limitations to expire could stop you from receiving the justice and just compensation you deserve

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Attorney David Betras
BKM Managing Partner David Betras

Statutes of limitations (SOL), laws that establish the maximum amount of time that parties involved in civil or criminal matter have to initiate a legal action, have been with us since the days of the Greek Republic and the Roman empire, which means they have been vexing and frustrating attorneys and citizens for thousands of years. And believe me, there are very few things as frustrating as having to tell someone who has been injured or wronged in some way that I can’t help them because the SOL that applies to their situation has run out.

In the vast majority of cases, it is not the potential client’s fault—aside from those of us who practice law most people have no idea that SOLs even exist or what the time limits are. To address that dilemma and reduce the chance that one of my loyal readers will be denied justice because the jurisprudential clock has run out, this week’s column will serve as a primer on this ancient, complicated, and confusing area of the law.

One caveat—how’s that for throwing a little Latin lawyerly lingo into mix—because SOLs are complicated and critical to the pursuit and disposition of cases, the information I’m providing should not be construed as legal advice. If you have been injured or harmed in some way and believe you have a cause of action, please, please, please consult the attorney of your choice immediately. Waiting too long or failing to do so could result in the courthouse door being needlessly slammed in your face—you should not allow that to happen.

Now, onto the topic of the day. Let’s begin with a look at the SOL that applies to personal injury cases like vehicle accidents, dog bites, product liability, premises liability which in common parlance is referred to as “slip and fall” and harm caused by other types of negligence. Under Ohio law the injured party has two years from the date the incident occurred to file suit. In addition, if a loved one is killed as a result of another party’s negligence families have two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim.  

Here’s a tip: don’t wait 23 months and 29 days to seek legal advice. It’s far better to explore whether you have a valid claim than to let the clock run out.

You probably noticed that medical malpractice was not listed above. That’s because med mal claims must be filed within one year of the date the injury was or should have been discovered or when the doctor/patient relationship ended, whichever occurs later. This more flexible time frame exists because it may not be immediately apparent that an injury has occurred.

In the interest of fairness, I feel compelled to note that the statute of limitations for legal malpractice mirrors the med mal SOL. Clients have one year from the date they discover or should have discovered that malpractice occurred or when the attorney-client relationship ends, whichever is later.

There is, however, a complicating factor when it comes to malpractice: something known as a statute of repose which sets a virtually non-flexible time limit for bringing actions against practitioners in Ohio. That means claims against attorneys, doctors, dentists, optometrists, and chiropractors must be brought no later than four years after the alleged malpractice took place.

There are exceptions—of course there are…Anyway, if a client exercising reasonable care and diligence, could not have discovered the legal malpractice within three years after the occurrence of the act or omission, but discovers it before the expiration of the four-year period they have a year after the discovery to bring an action.

A similar exemption exists for med mal and there’s a bonus exception: the statute of repose does not apply to situations in which a foreign object is left in a patient’s body during a procedure. If a scalpel turns up in an x-ray ten years after you had surgery, you’re free to file suit.

Here’s the bottom line: SOLs and statutes of repose were created to protect defendants, particularly those who are rich and powerful. Are they fair to injury victims and other plaintiffs? Probably not, but they won’t be disappearing in our lifetime, if ever, so it’s up to every citizen to avail themselves of the civil justice system when the need arises. 

results of car and motorcycle crash

Betras, Kopp & Markota observes Motorcycle Safety Month by offering life-saving tips

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The weather is breaking and that means people across the Valley are breaking out their motorcycles. Each year at this time we re-post this video from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF), AAA, law enforcement, and the National Highway Safety Foundation: https://vimeo.com/543457795 and important tips for car and truck drivers who aren’t used to seeing bikers on the road.

The tips are critically important because statistics show car and truck drivers are at fault in 60% of the accidents involving a bike and another vehicle.

1. Take an extra moment to look for motorcycles. Because of its small size, a motorcycle can be easily hidden in a car’s blind spots, so check — then check again — before changing lanes or making a turn.

2. Predict a motorcycle is closer than it looks. A motorcycle may look farther away than it is because of its small size, and it may be difficult to judge a motorcycle’s speed. When checking traffic to turn at an intersection or into (or out of) a driveway, predict a motorcycle is closer than it appears.

3. Keep a safe distance. Motorcyclists often slow by rolling off the throttle or downshifting, thus not activating the brake light, so allow more following distance, about 3 to 4 seconds.

4. Understand lane shifting. Motorcyclists often adjust position within a lane to be seen more easily and to minimize effects of road debris, passing vehicles, and wind. Understand that motorcyclists adjust lane position for a purpose, not to show off or to allow you to share the lane with them.

5. See the person. When a motorcycle is in motion, see more than the motorcycle, see the person under the helmet, who could be your friend, neighbor, or relative.

Bikers please stay safe and if you or someone you know is involved in a motorcycle accident, contact the local lawyers who will fight to win the settlement you need and deserve: Betras, Kopp & Markota.

Nothing frivolous about it: Trial lawyers who hold doctors and other providers accountable when they injure or kill patients play a major role in improving America’s health care system

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Attorney David Betras
BKM Managing Partner David Betras

Over the years I’ve developed a relatively thick skin—something that is basically a job requirement for criminal defense and personal injury attorneys and chairs of political parties. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been called an “ambulance chaser,” “shyster,” “commie,” “hack,” yelled at for getting criminals off, and been told the “What do you call 99 lawyers at the bottom of the sea?” joke, 99,000 times. (The answer: a good start.)

For the most part, this stuff just rolls off my back. But there is one two-word phrase that simply sends me over the edge: “frivolous lawsuit” as in  “If you ambulance chasers would stop filing frivolous lawsuits health care costs wouldn’t be so high. Thanks to you shysters medical malpractice insurance premiums are skyrocketing. You’re forcing doctors to practice expensive defensive medicine and driving them out of the profession.”

Aside from the fact that my firm has never filed a lawsuit that in any way comports with the definition of frivolous: i.e. not having any serious purpose or value, the medical malpractice cases trial lawyers like us bring play an important role in preventing doctors, other health care providers, and hospitals from killing and maiming patients.

And believe me, there is nothing at all frivolous about that when you consider that a John Hopkins University School of Medicine study found that medical errors and malpractice could feasibly be the third leading cause of death in the U.S. killing between 250,000 and 440,000 Americans each year. Imagine how much higher the death toll would be if lawyers like us were not holding medical professionals accountable.

Those statistics in and of themselves are troubling, but when you put a face, a name, and an actual case to the numbers they become downright heart wrenching. For example, last year, Brian Kopp who heads BKM’s complex litigation practice group and is one of the nation’s preeminent medical malpractice and wrongful death attorneys, represented the family of Megan Clay, a perfectly healthy 20-year-old who died after having what should have been a routine tonsillectomy on March 29, 2018.

More than four years after Megan passed away, her case went to trial and a Common Pleas Court jury awarded her family significant damages. After the verdict was returned Brian offered this comment: “I am the father of seven daughters and have one granddaughter and I cannot imagine for a moment what it is like to walk in the shoes of Jay Clay and his family. Jay, his wife Christine, and Megan’s brothers and sister have suffered a devastating loss. It is always humbling to represent a family that has suffered as they have.”

Despite all the data about the number and consequences of medical errors and tragic stories Megan Clay’s, the insurance industry, doctors, and business groups continue to use frivolous lawsuits as a stalking horse for their attempts to enact tort “reform” laws that severely limit the ability of victims and families to seek justice and just compensation—even though fewer than 2% of those impacted by malpractice ever file suit.

I mention all of this because the Center for Justice and Democracy at New York Law School recently issued a comprehensive briefing book “Medical Malpractice by the Numbers” that refutes the misinformation regularly dispensed about the impact lawsuits have on the practice of medicine. Here are few relevant facts:

So-called “defensive medicine” is a myth. Researchers found that physicians order tests because they are focused on patient safety not malpractice risks, or “more focused on not harming patients than on not getting sued.”

Medical malpractice premiums are rising even though claims are dropping. More than 6 in 10 medical groups report their doctors’ malpractice premiums have increased since 2020 even though overall claims throughout the United States have dropped.

Caps on damages harm patients while doing nothing to stop insurance premium price-gouging. Researchers found that while caps drive down insurer costs, premiums do not fall and that by lowering the risk of suit for malpractice … imposing caps is associated with a 16% increase in adverse events.

The United States health care system is severely failing women. Among women of reproductive age in high-income countries, rates of death from avoidable causes, including pregnancy-related complications, are highest in the United States.

The Briefing Book is bursting with facts about they intersection of the legal and medical professions and, take if from your favorite ambulance chaser, is well worth a look.

The weather outside is frightful so now is the time to check out BKM’s winter driving tips…

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Just in case you haven’t looked outside yet, our “Three Ps” of safe winter driving tips will be extremely relevant and useful over the next couple of days.

Please be careful on the roads, and remember, if someone who isn’t driving safely runs into you or a member of your family, contact Betras, Kopp & Markota right away to arrange a free consultation to discuss your accident. Our experienced team of investigators and attorneys will evaluate your case, provide rock-solid advice, and fight to get the money your family needs and deserves.

So, call the LOCAL law firm big enough to win millions from the insurance giants: Betras, Kopp & Markota.

SAFETY ON WINTER ROADS

Bad roads can lead to bad wrecks. Driving on snow-covered, icy roads is tricky—even for those of us who have been doing it for decades. In order to help drivers avoid accidents, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and OSHA have developed the “Three Ps” of winter driving safety:

PREPARE for the trip; PROTECT yourself; and PREVENT crashes on the road.

Some of the advice is pretty obvious—like making sure all the ice and snow is scraped off all your windows before you head down the road. But even though common sense dictates that being able to see is critical to safe driving, we’ve all seen people weaving around as they peer out of the very small space they’ve cleared on their windshield that looks like a porthole on a tank’s gun turret. There’s only one difference: a car isn’t a tank rolling through woods, it’s a car lurching down a road crowded with other vehicles that can be hit because the driver can’t see them, lane lines, traffic signals or stop signs. So let’s start with the obvious, clear off all your windows, it’s great way to prevent collisions. We’re talking to guys in particular, because as the graphic shows, men are a lot more likely to drive in cars with ice-covered windows then women…

Here’s rest of NHTSA’s “Three Ps:

PREPARE

Maintain Your Car: Check battery, tire tread, and windshield wipers, keep your windows clear, put no-freeze fluid in the washer reservoir, and check your antifreeze.

Have On Hand: flashlight, jumper cables, abrasive material (sand, kitty litter, even floor mats), shovel, snow brush and ice scraper, warning devices (like flares) and blankets. For long trips, add food and water, medication and cell phone.

Plan Your route: Allow plenty of time (check the weather and leave early if necessary), be familiar with the maps/ directions, and let others know your route and arrival time.

Practice cold weather driving when your area gets snow — but not on a main road. Until you’ve sharpened your winter weather driving skills and know how your vehicle handles in snowy conditions, it’s best to practice in an empty parking lot in full daylight. Note our emphasis on the word “empty.”

Know what your brakes will do: stomp on antilock brakes, pump on non-antilock brakes.

Stopping distances are longer on water-covered ice and ice.

Don’t idle for a long time with the windows up or in an enclosed space.

PROTECT YOURSELF

Buckle up and use child safety seats properly.

Never place a rear-facing infant seat in front of an air bag.

Children 12 and under are much safer in the back seat.

Stopped or Stalled? Stay in your car, don’t overexert, put bright markers on antenna or windows and shine dome light, and, if you run your car, clear exhaust pipe and run it just enough to stay warm.

Don’t idle for a long time with the windows up or in an enclosed space.

PREVENT CRASHES

Drive slowly. It’s harder to control or stop your vehicle on a slick or snow-covered surface. On the road, increase your following distance enough so that you’ll have plenty of time to stop for vehicles ahead of you.

A word of caution about braking: Know what kind of brakes your vehicle has and how to use them properly. In general, if you have antilock brakes, apply firm, continuous pressure. If you don’t have antilock brakes, pump the brakes gently.

Stay calm and ease your foot off the gas while carefully steering in the direction you want the front of your vehicle to go if you find yourself in a skid. Stay off the pedals (gas and brake) until you are able to maintain control of your vehicle. This procedure, known as “steering into the skid,” will bring the back end of your car in line with the front.

Drugs and alcohol never mix with driving.

Texting while behind the wheel is especially dangerous in winter conditions. Put your phone down.

You can check out NHTSA’s interactive winter driving safety website by clicking here.

Here’s one more tip: even though you do everything right, someone who does just one thing wrong in icy conditions can cause an accident in the blink of an eye. If you’re involved in a wreck caused by a careless or distracted driver, contact Betras, Kopp & Markota BEFORE you talk to an insurance agent or adjuster. We’ll arrange a free consultation that will give us the opportunity to evaluate your case and provide you with sound advice that will protect your rights and your ability to secure justice and the financial settlement you and your family needs and deserves.

New distracted bill is overdue, will save lives and make Ohio roads safer for all

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Betras, Kopp & Markota has long been a leader in the battle to end the carnage caused by distracted driving. That is why we are pleased to commend the members of the Ohio General Assembly for passing and Governor Mike DeWine for signing SB 288, which includes provisions that will significantly strengthen the penalties for using, holding, or physically supporting an electronic wireless communications device (EWCD)–yes that’s the new fancy acronym for “cell phone”–while operating a motor vehicle.

The new law makes using an EWCD while behind the wheel a primary offense. That means a law enforcement officer has the right to pull over and ticket any driver seen using, holding or physically supporting a cellphone. Officers may also follow vehicles that are swerving or drifting from lane to lane to determine if the driver is using an EWCD. Until now, texting while driving was a secondary offense which meant drivers could not be stopped just for using a cell phone unless they were under the age of 18.

Governor DeWine has been imploring members of the legislature to enact the law since it was introduced in 2021. “You’ll never have a chance to vote on a thing that is as clear-cut that you will be saving lives as when you vote ‘yes’ on it.”

During the signing ceremony for SB 288 DeWine said “Right now, too many people are willing to risk their lives while behind the wheel to get a look at their phones. My hope is that this legislation will prompt a cultural shift around distracted driving that normalizes the fact that distracted driving is dangerous, irresponsible, and just as deadly as driving drunk.”

We share that hope because since 2017 people using EWCDs while driving in Ohio were involved in 73,945 accidents including the 31 fatal crashes and 258 that resulted in serious injuries in 2022 alone. The real tragedy: each and every one of those collisions was 100% preventable.

Here is what you need to know about the new law:

It goes into effect on Monday, April 2, 2023. For the first six months officers may only issue written warnings for violations.

As noted above, the law prohibits drivers from operating a motor vehicle, trackless trolley, or streetcar on any street, highway, or property open to the public for vehicular traffic while using holding, or physically supporting with any part of the person’s body an electronic wireless communications device. In essence this means drivers may not input information or type on a screen while driving.

There are a number of commonsense exceptions written into the law. Drivers may:

Call 911 or contact a health care provider or hospital in case of emergency;

Use a EWCD while parked outside a lane of travel or stopped at a red light or on a road or highway that has been closed due to an emergency situation;

Hold a device up to their ear during a call or use a speakerphone;

Use a navigation service as long as the driver is not inputting destinations or information;

Begin or end a call with a single swipe of the screen;

Store a device in a holster, holder, harness, or article of clothing.

Violations carry an escalating series of fines:

Up to $150 and two points on your license for the first offense.

Up to $250 and three points on your license for a second offense within two years.

Up to $500, four points on your license and a 90-day driver’s license suspension for a third offense within two years.

We hope none of you ever has to pay a fine because that means the law is working and you are not putting yourself, your passengers, other drivers, and pedestrians at risk by driving while distracted.

And just in case you’ve forgotten why we care so much about this issue and fight so hard to end the preventable carnage caused by distracting driving, we urge you to view this video: https://youtu.be/Uc7nviub_Tk

Now is the time to pass tougher distracted driving law, here’s how you can help

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Now that our completely fraud free election is over, the members of the Ohio General Assembly have left the campaign trail and are now in Columbus conducting a “lame duck” session.  I do not want to be an alarmist, but if past performance is any indicator of future results, we should all be very, very afraid.

Why?

Because for the next two months Capital Square in Columbus will be a nesting ground for lame duck legislators who were defeated at the polls, are being forced out of office by term limits, have switched to the House from the Senate and vice versa, or have just been reelected and will not face the voters for two years. That means there are now 132 people running around the Statehouse who are totally unaccountable for whatever it is they decide to do.

Attorney David Betras
BKM Managing Partner
David Betras

As you might imagine, the opportunity to engage in mischief and mayhem is nearly unlimited. And, as history clearly demonstrates, it is an opportunity our representatives often seize by ramming unpopular or controversial laws through the legislative sausage making machine at a dizzying pace.

To absolutely no one’s surprise, the GOP majority’s lame duck agenda which consists of bills that would never have seen the light of day before Ohioans went to the polls, is truly frightening and disturbing. Rest assured; I will have more to say about that in the weeks ahead. But today, I want to shine a spotlight on a positive development that occurred during the first week of lame duck: the overwhelming passage of HB 283 which prohibits, in most circumstances, a person from using, holding, or physically supporting with any part of the person’s body any electronic wireless communications device (EWCD—what used to be commonly referred to as cell phones).

Along with stiffening penalties for distracted driving, HB 283 makes violating the law a primary offense, which means law enforcement may now stop and ticket distracted drivers before they cross over three lanes of traffic and hit a telephone pole, blow through a red light and cause a multi-car collision, or run down pedestrians or cyclists on the side of the road. That is why we and other warriors in the battle to end distracted driving enthusiastically supported the legislation when it was introduced in February of 2021.

Since then, Allstate, Nationwide, the American Property and Casualty Insurance Association, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Highway Patrol, General Motors, the National Transportation Safety Board, the AAA, the Ohio Trucking Association, and more than 20 other groups and individuals including Douglas and Cathy Richeson, Sharon Montgomery, and Dom Tiberi all of whom lost loved ones in distracted driving crashes, have testified in favor of the bill.

Yet, despite broad-based support from the business community and the compelling testimony of grieving families HB 283 languished in the House Criminal Justice Committee for more than a year because Bill Seitz of Cincinnati, one of the most powerful Republicans in the House, was opposed to it. As a result, hundreds of Ohioans continued to be involved, hurt, and/or killed in accidents that never should have happened.

This week Seitz finally agreed to free the bill from committee after adding amendments proponents would only have accepted during lame duck. Seitz effectively blackmailed them into capitulating because he knew backers of the bill did not want to begin the fight anew when the next session of the General Assembly convenes in 2023.

Although Seitz succeeded in weaking the legislation, it will make Ohio the 31st state in the nation to ban the use of EWCDs while driving and make violations a primary offense. The law represents an important first step toward making Ohio a safer place to drive, walk, and bike.

But it is a step we will take only if HB 283 passes the Senate.

And that’s a bid if. Senate President Matt Huffman who is arguably the most powerful Republican in Ohio, opposes the legislation on “civil liberty” grounds. I guess he believes distracted drivers should continue to have the civil liberty to drive around killing and maiming their fellow Ohioans.

Huffman did say, however, that he will allow the legislation to come to a floor vote if there is a “groundswell of support for it” among the members of his caucus, two of whom Sandra O’Brien and Michael Rulli represent the Valley. So here is an assignment for all of you who would like to help the BKM legal team save some lives: Call or email them both and ask them to ask Sen. Huffman to bring HB 283 to the floor.

You may reach Sen. O’Brien by phone at (614) 466-7182 or by email at https://ohiosenate.gov/senators/obrien/contact. Call Sen. Rulli l at (614) 466-8285 or shoot him an email at  https://ohiosenate.gov/senators/rulli/contact

Thanks in advance for your help, getting this important bill passed will give us all something to be extremely grateful for this holiday season and for years to come.

Using the civil justice system to hold perpetrators accountable for criminal acts

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Attorney David BetrasAs many of you know, I am representing Cameron Morgan, the 23-year-old woman who was punched in the face and then dragged into the street by Andrew Walls in Akron on Feb. 26. The incident garnered nationwide media attention hours after video of the racially motivated attack went viral.

Since then, Walls has admitted to being a member of the Proud Boys, an organization identified as an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and as a terrorist entity by the Canadian government. In what I can only characterize as a sad commentary on the current state of our society, Cameron and her father David, who is a Youngstown native, have been attacked by the Proud Boys and their supporters.

Despite being the targets of threats, intimidation tactics and racial slurs, Cameron and David remain resolute: Walls, along with anyone and everyone who aided and abetted him, must be held accountable for their actions.  In addition to the criminal offenses, Walls already faces the possibility that he will be charged under state and/or federal hate crime statutes — as he should be. Part of that accountability will include me keeping my promise to sue everyone who is any way responsible for the assault “into oblivion.”

Fortunately, a little-known and seldom-used provision of Ohio law empowers me to do exactly that. Section 2307.60 of the Ohio Revised Code enables “Anyone injured in person or property by a criminal act… [to] recover full damages in a civil action … ” including punitive damages, exemplary damages and attorney’s fees. For those of you who did not go to law school and are wondering: Exemplary damages are awarded when a defendant’s conduct is found to be willfully malicious, violent, oppressive, wanton or grossly reckless. Anyone who has seen the disturbing video will agree that Walls’ actions certainly check all those boxes. Here is one of the best features of the law: According to the Ohio Supreme Court decision in Buddenberg v. Weisdack, a civil cause of action for injuries based on a “criminal act” may be brought under this provision, even if the offender has not been convicted criminally.

In other words, I do not have to wait for Walls’ case to move through the criminal courts. I may sue him now — and believe me, I will. The other important thing to know about the provision is that I can also use it to sue others who may have committed criminal acts and are in some way related to the incident, even if they are never charged with or convicted of a crime. All I need to do to prevail in a civil proceeding is prove that the defendant committed a criminal offense that harmed my client.

I have in the past written about the many ways trial lawyers have made our nation and world safer by filing lawsuits that forced corporations to remove dangerous cars, drugs, medical devices and other products from the marketplace. Now, thanks to a courageous young woman and her father, I will have the opportunity to use the civil justice system to punish racism, hate and violence. The prospect makes me proud to be an attorney and a citizen of the greatest country in the world.

The Cameron Morgan Attack: Hate and those who spread it, are tearing our nation apart.

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During my 30-plus year career as a criminal defense and personal injury attorney I have viewed many disturbing images: autopsy photos, disfiguring injuries resulting from dog bites, surveillance cam footage of a murder, third degree burns suffered in an industrial accident. You name it, I have seen it. But few of those images have been […]

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PREP Act Liability Protections worked, COVID-19 vaccines are safe and life-saving

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Attorney David BetrasAs Brad Pitt and J-Lo know only too well, being a celebrity, a status I achieved thanks in no small part to this column and the quite fetching full-color headshot that runs with it, can sometimes be a pain in the gluteus maximus. That pain has become excruciating in recent weeks as a growing number of incredibly intense people have accosted me in public because I believe everyone should receive the COVID-19 vaccine and I support vaccination mandates.

Look, I am more than willing to engage in a fact-based debate about the pandemic and the measures being taken to end it. But I run out of patience when someone shoves their smartphone in my face while I am sitting in a restaurant eating and screams DAVID, DAVID, look at this Facebook post—thanks for that Mark Zuckerberg—and then proceeds to tell me at the top of their lungs that the vaccines contain computer chips, are made from dead babies, will alter my DNA, and render me infertile.

Well, okay, none of those things are true, a detail that has exactly zero impact on the wild-eyed disbelievers who hover around me like buzzards circling roadkill until I give up and run for the door.

A couple of days ago, however, one of the vaccine resisters who has dedicated his life to disrupting my dinner made a relatively cogent point, albeit in a belligerent manner. “Hey, Mr. Big Shot Trial Lawyer, if the vaccines are so safe, how come the government passed a law that says vaccine makers and those who dispense it can’t be sued when their poison kills and maims people? Why did they leave victims out in the cold? They did it because they know the death toll is going to be in the millions, that’s why.”

COVID Vaccination Rates, U.S. and OhioSo, my tormenter is right about one thing: the federal government has extended nearly total liability immunity to manufacturers, distributors, prescribers, and dispensers of products developed to treat, diagnose, or prevent the onset of COVID-19.

But it is important to remember that the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP) which provides the immunity was not enacted specifically to protect the makers of COVID-19 vaccines. It was enacted by Congress and signed into law by George W. Bush in 2005 in the wake of a serious bird flu outbreak. The rationale for the law was simple: the liability shield would give drug makers the protection they needed to respond quickly and effectively to a public health crisis.

When Coronavirus hit, the law worked exactly as planned. On February 4, 2020, the Trump Administration declared COVID-19 to be a public health emergency and invoked PREP. Within months the first vaccines were ready for use. Today, 191 million Americans have been vaccinated, and due in large part to vaccine mandates imposed by employers, the spread of the Delta variant is easing rapidly.

While my anti-vax buddy was right about the existence of the liability shield, he was wrong when he said those hurt or killed by the vaccine would be left out in the cold. Anyone who believes they have suffered serious side effects from a COVID-19 vaccine is eligible to file for benefits from the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CIPC), a special fund established to provide payments to anyone who was injured by any drug or treatment related to a PREP emergency declaration. To date, while 416 million doses of the vaccine have been administered only 296 COVID-19 related claims have been filed.

Now that is a statistic that should be all over Facebook.