OSU Student Gets $500K Settlement After Being Struck by Campus Truck

A former Ohio State University student who lost his leg after being struck by a construction company dump truck while riding his bicycle to class on campus in 2012 will receive a $500,000 settlement from OSU to compensate him for his injuries.

The student, James Daniel Hughes, who at the time was an 18-year-old freshman chemical engineering major when he was struck by the truck on Sept. 5, 2012, lost his right leg and suffered severe damage to his pelvis and spine from the crash, according to a Dec. 20 story by The Columbus Dispatch. Hughes, of South Point, Ohio, was struck on his bike near the entrance to a construction site along Woodruff Avenue on OSU’s campus. The truck was owned by a contracting company that was doing work at the school.

OSU will also provide free undergraduate tuition so that Hughes can return to school and resume his college work toward his degree, according to the story.

Hughes and his family had sued OSU, the driver of the dump truck that struck him and 10 contractors that had been hired by the school for the construction work, alleging that the defendants had “failed to take the necessary precautions to keep students safe in what they knew was a densely packed area,” the story reported.

The family previously settled their lawsuits with the dump truck driver and the contractors, the paper reported. The construction work involved the $126 million Chemical Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry building on OSU’s campus, which was along the route that many students took to go to class or their dorms, the story reported.

“A gate at the site was left open, and construction vehicles were allowed to go in and out without any security workers or sufficient precautions for students, according to court documents,” the paper reported. “The crash was foreseeable, the documents say, and Ohio State did nothing to prevent it.”

A police investigation following the crash determined that no criminal charges would be filed against the dump truck driver, the story stated. A police report concluded that “Hughes appeared to have been riding his bike on the sidewalk, instead of in the street, and did not see the turning dump truck until it was too late, based on witness statements and other evidence. Police said they didn’t think [the truck driver] saw Hughes, because he was in the dump-truck driver’s blind spot.”

These kinds of tragic legal cases occur every day when innocent victims are severely hurt or killed in vehicle crashes through no fault of their own due to the actions, inattentiveness or indifference of others. That’s why it is critical to have a legal team on your side that uncovers every fact to bolster your case and maximize your damage award.

We here at MyPhillyLawyer stand ready to assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever seriously injured in a vehicle incident or accident anywhere in the United States. We represent the families of victims who die in such tragedies as well, to ensure that their families receive every penny of damages that they are eligible to receive.

Call MyPhillyLawyer at 215-227-2727 or toll-free at 1-(866) 352-4572 anytime and our experienced, compassionate, aggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for you and your family every step of the way as we manage your case through the legal system.