Car Crash Attorney Gets $270K Settlement for Ohio Woman Who Was Severely Injured When Her Car Was Struck By A Speeding Police Car That Was Picking Up Toys for a Holiday Toy Drive

By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on June 7th, 2019

A $270,000 settlement has been reached with the city of Toledo, Ohio, on behalf of a woman who was severely injured in 2017 when her car was struck by a city police car that was speeding on its way to pick up toys for a holiday toy drive for children.

The woman, Susan Schlageter, who was 67 at the time of the crash, suffered a lacerated spleen, two uncontrolled internal bleeds and broken ribs in the Dec. 15, 2017 collision, according to a  May 20 story in The (Toledo) Blade. She also suffered a broken wrist and finger in the crash.

The crash occurred when Toledo police Officer Mohamad Nasser was driving westbound on Heatherdowns Boulevard when his car struck Schlageter’s SUV as she was turning left onto Cheyenne Boulevard, according to the paper. Nasser was speeding through a red light at the time of the crash, the story reported.

Nasser, who was a community services officer for the police department, was not responding to an emergency when his car smashed into the victim’s SUV, according to the story. At the time of the crash, Nasser was heading to pick up toys for a holiday toy drive.

A witness had told the district attorney’s office that they had seen the police officer driving recklessly and speeding from Reynolds Road near Airport Highway before the crash, according to the report. The witness was so concerned about how the police car was being operated that she followed it to the scene of the eventual crash, the story continued.

The district attorney’s office said the police car was accelerating and had hit the speed of 71 mph just before the airbag activated in the police car, according to the vehicle’s data box. The speed limit at the intersection was 40 mph at the site of the crash.

In February of 2018, Nasser was indicted on a fourth-degree felony count of vehicular assault and a misdemeanor charge of failure to obey a traffic control device. He later pleaded no contest and was found guilty of assault and criminal damaging and of a minor misdemeanor speeding charge. Nasser has been on unpaid leave from the police department since the crash.

The $270,000 settlement with Schlageter was reached and approved by the city before she ever filed a lawsuit in the case.

Legal cases like this one occur around the nation every day and are examples of similar kinds of car crash cases that MyPhillyLawyer attorneys regularly work on tirelessly for our own clients. Often, we are not able to discuss the cases we are actively working on due to confidentiality requirements, so we discuss other relevant cases in the news such as this one to illustrate the legal situations people find themselves in every day.

When you need a car accident injury attorney, we here at MyPhillyLawyer stand ready to assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever seriously injured in any kind of car crash, slip and fall, workplace injury or wrongful death in Philadelphia or anywhere in the United States. We pledge to make sure that you and your family get the compassionate, dogged and experienced legal representation that you deserve and expect from a professional legal team which works hard to uncover every fact to bolster your case and maximize your damage award.

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.

Talk to a Philadelphia car crash attorney at MyPhillyLawyer by calling 215-914-5471 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.

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