Smith Schabo Law

06/02/2026

Reasons you need Smith Schabo Law

06/02/2026

JUNE IS PTSD AWARENESS MONTH

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a legally recognized psychological and physical injury in personal injury law. If you develop PTSD due to another party's negligence (e.g., in a car crash or workplace incident), you can seek compensation for non-economic damages, medical care, and lost wages.

Smith Schabo focuses on three things;

Get Compensated

Get in Contact with Smith Schabo Law

And MOST IMPORTANTLY, Get Better

1. What You Can Claim For

Because PTSD is classified as an emotional or psychological injury, it typically falls under non-economic damages. Compensation in a settlement or lawsuit can cover:

*Medical Costs: Long-term psychotherapy, psychiatric treatment, and medications.

*Lost Wages: Time missed from work due to an inability to function or travel.

*Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the debilitating, day-to-day impact of flashbacks, anxiety, or emotional numbness.

2. Evidence You Need

To be taken seriously by insurance companies or in court, your PTSD must be formally documented and strictly linked to the traumatic event. You will need:

*Official Diagnosis: A documented diagnosis from a licensed mental health professional (like a psychiatrist or psychologist) who relies on the DSM-5 guidelines.

*Consistent Treatment Records: Detailed therapy notes and assessment scores that show how symptoms developed and are interfering with your life.

*Expert Testimony: Testimony from your treating therapist or a forensic psychologist explaining how the trauma caused the condition and your future needs.

*Fact Witnesses: Statements from friends, family, and coworkers detailing how they have personally observed the changes in your behavior and day-to-day functioning.

3. Key Legal Hurdles to Expect

*Pre-existing Conditions: Insurance adjusters will try to argue that your symptoms stem from unrelated, prior stressors. Consistent, continuous treatment directly following the trauma helps counter this.

*State Laws: Depending on your jurisdiction (e.g., states like New York or New Jersey), there may be specific rules about whether you can claim purely psychological harm without an accompanying physical injury.

*Statute of Limitations: There is a strict time limit (usually 1 to 3 years, depending on the state and incident) to file your lawsuit.

If you are pursuing a claim, call Smith Schabo if you experience PTSD after being hurt or injured in an accident.

(614) 300-5001

06/02/2026

SMITH SCHABO LAW WELCOMES
PGA Players, Staff, and Patrons to Dublin Ohio!

There will be heavy traffic, & road closures, begining today in the Dublin Area for the 50th Memorial Tournament

Tuesday, June 2, through Sunday, June 7, Carnoustie Drive will be one-way (eastbound only) from Muirfield Drive to Glick Road.

If you find yourself in need of Personal Injury Representation before, during, or after play call Smith Schabo Law (614) 300-5001

06/01/2026

ODOT installing wrong-way driver detection cameras in Columbus Area

The Ohio Department of Transportation said it is installing 30 wrong-way driver detection cameras on highway ramps around the Columbus area as a part of a years-long effort that began in other cities around the state.

ODOT has been using wrong-way traffic cameras since at least 2016, when it deployed a test camera on the Interstate 670 westbound ramp to Neil Avenue. ODOT installed its first corridor of cameras in Cincinnati in 2019. Since then, it has installed cameras in Dayton and Cleveland.

Now, ODOT is bringing Columbus' cameras online, ODOT spokesperson Matt Bruning said. ODOT has recently installed wrong-way cameras in the following locations:

Interstate 670 westbound exit to Dublin Road

State Route 315 southbound exit to west Goodale Street

Route 104 southbound exit to Refugee Road

State Route 315 southbound exit to north Broadway Street

Interstate 70 eastbound exit to Alum Creek Drive

State Route 161 eastbound exit to Little Turtle Way

State Route 161 eastbound exit to Sunbury Road

Interstate 71 northbound exit to Greenlawn Avenue

The estimated total cost of all the cameras is $3.4 million. The cameras are funded through ODOT's traffic operations funds, and all 30 of the cameras are expected to be online in the next several months, Bruning said.

The wrong-way cameras are stationary, and their view is divided into three boxes through which drivers going the correct direction pass in a specific order. If a driver crosses these boxes in an incorrect order, the camera sends a wrong-way driver alert to ODOT's traffic management center, which is always staffed. An ODOT employee then reviews the camera's footage of the driver and contacts law enforcement, Bruning said.

Without the cameras, wrong-way driver detection is up to passing motorists to call 911, and those drivers might not know exactly where they are, Bruning said. By the time their call gets placed with the correct dispatcher and they figure out where they are, the wrong-way driver has likely continued far down the roadway, he said.

Wrong-way drivers caused one fatal crash each in Columbus in April and May, according to police. Wrong-way crashes are very rare – they made up just 0.3% of all crashes in Ohio in 2025 – but are 40 times more likely to be deadly. ODOT's wrong way camera project was already scheduled and was not implemented because of these crashes, Bruning said.

Nathan Hart Columbus Dispatch

05/31/2026

Road Work Scheduled this week in Hilliard

Starting Monday, crews will be busy on the west side in the city of Hilliard and Franklin County will work on separate road projects.

05/31/2026

Summer Music Festival is here

Missouri concertgoer dies after being kicked in head by crowd surfer at rock festival

A Missouri school secretary died after she was kicked in the head by a crowd surfer at a rock festival and doctors discovered a fatal blood clot in the days following the freak accident.

Danielle Uskiwich, 28, died on Tuesday, 10 days after another concertgoer accidentally struck her in the head while listening to the rock band Sleep Theory perform at Pointfest in Maryland Heights, Missouri, on May 16, her family said.

“It is with absolutely shattered hearts that we share that our beautiful Danielle passed away on May 26th at 1:54 PM,” her cousins wrote on GoFundMe Wednesday.

Nicholas McEntyre- NY Post

05/31/2026

Graduation Season

05/30/2026

Reasons you need Smith Schabo Law

Dog fires off multiple gunshots, hits driver near gas station.

A dog astonishingly opened fire and struck a driver idling yards away at a red light in Nebraska after getting its paws on its owner’s shotgun during a chaotic pitstop Saturday.

The pooch, its owner and a passenger pulled into Short Stop, a baseball-themed gas station and convenience store, in Scottsbluff Nebraska just before noon — when the owner popped into the store.

The curious canine quickly started to rifle around in the back seat and came across a shotgun. Somehow, the pooch popped off several shots straight through the passenger side door, according to police reports obtained by KNOP.

The truck’s passenger who had lingered near the truck while waiting for the driver, watched in apparent bewilderment as the dog opened fire.

One shot soared across the gas station and reportedly struck a woman waiting at a nearby traffic light.

Scottsbluff police were originally told that someone had fired a BB gun, but realized the severity of situation when they found the shellshocked dog and a smoking shotgun.

The lone victim was shot in the arm and hospitalized with a non-life-threatening injury, the outlet reported.

Police are still probing the shooting.

05/30/2026

Police looking for driver in fatal hit-and-run on Columbus' North Side

A bicyclist was killed May 29 after being hit by two vehicles in a hit-and-run crash in Columbus' Milo-Grogan neighborhood on the city's North Side.

Around 8:35 a.m., the bicyclist was traveling north on a sidewalk on the east side of Cleveland Avenue while approaching Essex Avenue, according to the Columbus police Accident Investigation Unit.

For reasons still under investigation, the bicyclist left the sidewalk and went west across Cleveland Avenue, where a GMC SUV hit them, police said.

Moments later, while the bicyclist was on the ground, a blue Ford sedan drove by and hit the bicyclist, then fled the scene, police said. The GMC driver remained at the scene, police said.

Police said the bicyclist – whom they have not identified, pending notification of family – died from their injuries.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the Accident Investigation Unit at 614-645-4767 or anonymously contact Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.

Shahid Meighan Columbus Dispatch