Sarah E. Martin v. Ohio Department of Transportation, et al., Case No. 2013-00432

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) will pay $250,000 for a crash involving one of its dump trucks. The Court of Claims of Ohio approved the settlement today.

According to case documents filed on July 26, 2013, by Sarah Martin’s parents, acting on her behalf as her guardians after the accident, ODOT employee Sammy Smith pulled the dump truck on to U.S. 35 in front of Martin’s vehicle on Dec. 27, 2012, in Jackson County. Martin’s vehicle collided with the back of the ODOT truck.

The complaint states that Smith “negligently operated his vehicle, cut off the plaintiff's ward, Sarah E. Martin's assured clear distance ahead, negligently changed lanes and negligently failed to warn of his intended incursion into the active lanes ….”

Martin suffered a traumatic brain injury and multiple broken bones.

The Court of Claims is given original jurisdiction to hear and determine all civil actions filed against the state of Ohio and its agencies.

To access information on other cases visit the Court of Claims website.

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