There is a dirty little secret about drunk driving accidents in Indiana

Now for the dirty little secret.  You probably know that bars can be held responsible for harm to a person if they serve a person alcohol who is visibly intoxicated, and that person drives off from the bar and causes serious personal injury or wrongful death.  What you don’t know is that the bars are not required to maintain insurance which will pay for your damages if the bar serves a visibly intoxicated person and that person causes a drunk driving accident.  We do not have statistics as to how many bars do and do not carry this coverage, but we do know that a substantial number of bars do not carry such insurance.  This means that the injuries you suffer at the hands of the drunk driver who was over served at a bar will fall to you and your family.  The bar continues to make money, but you can’t work, you have huge medical bills and your family suffers.  We do not think this is right. You may say, well isn’t it really the drunk drivers fault? And the answer is that the drunk driver is to blame, but, if the drunk is in the bar, and is visibly intoxicated, they must not be served and caused to become even more drunk.  We encourage all bars to car liability insurance which will cover the harms caused by this kind of negligence. We also encourage bars to properly train their employees to take seriously their obligation to identify visibly intoxicated persons, and not serve them.

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.A couple of tips can help you drive safely.  Make sure you have a scraper in your car so you can clear all the ice off your front, rear and side windows  You have seen the guy driving with just a small area of the windshield cleared and none of the other windows cleared.  This guy will run into something, because he can’t see.  Keep plenty of washer fluid in the reservoir.  Salt on the road builds up fast on the wind screen.  When the sun hits that salt, you are blind.  This is especially true when you are driving on the highway with the spray from large trucks covering your wind screen. Make sure you do not have any signs impairing your rear sight line. 

Being able to see reduces the risk of causing a collision and seriously injuring, or causing the wrongful death, of your fellow Hoosiers.

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In my line of work as a auto accident attorney, we know that eye witness accounts of a collision often vary greatly about what happened in the car accident. Scientific studies.     Barbara Tversky, in her article “The Problem with Eyewitness Testimony”, Stanford Journal of Legal Studies, April 1999, observed, “The mere fault of being human results in distorted memory and inaccurate testimony.”  We humans are subject to memory bias and the introduction of false memories which interfere with our ability to accurately remember and repeat exactly what we have seen. So, what can be done about this problem?  Retrieve the information from the data recording device for the cars, or trucks involved in the collision.

Modern automobile data recording devices record up to 20 seconds of information before any crash.  The data recorded can include whether the passengers of the car were wearing seatbelts, the car speed at any point in that 20 seconds, the acceleration of the car in that 20 seconds, the percent of the engine throttle and gas pedal, when the brakes were activated, when the antilock braking device was activated and more. This information is very important, but any accident expert worth their salt will collect all the objective evidence at the scene of the car crash and compare it to the data on the recording device.  The objective evidence includes the damage to each car, the final resting place of the cars after the impact, the direction the cars went upon impact, and other information.  When the “black box” data matches up with the objective evidence at the scene of the collision the jury can be very confident that the data recording device is telling the accurate story about what happened in the crash.  This is very important when eyewitnesses give contradicting versions of what happened.

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If you are not so seriously injured that you are able to walk and talk and think clearly, then we suggest that you give a concise statement of the facts to the investigating officer.  Ask the officer to record the names of witnesses at the scene.  You may exchange insurance information at the scene of the collision.  If the other driver is not cooperating, do not force the issue.  Allow the police to take care of it.  However, you should record the license plate number and make and model of the other car.

Limit Discussion of the collision and talk only with the police or your claim handler.

If you receive a call, a visit, or a letter from an attorney or attorney’s office within the first thirty days of the collision, know that they cannot be trusted.  They cannot be trusted because the rules of the Indiana Supreme Court prohibit such contact.  If a lawyer, a law firm or one of their workers contacts you within that 30 days, know they are not honest and you must report them to the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission.  Someone who would violate this rule cannot be trusted to work for you.

Give no statement to the insurance company for the person who caused the collision. 

If you are injured seek medical attention and follow the doctor’s orders.  It is difficult for those without insurance to obtain quality care, but do what you can.

If you have any questions about your rights, seek the advice of people you know and respect to locate and retain a lawyer.  Experience counts, and your friends and family probably know a good lawyer with whom they have worked and trust.

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If your car is not on fire, or if you are no longer in immediate danger, while in your car, do not move.  Your body is in shock as a result of the crash.  Your pulse is up, your blood pressure is up, your thoughts are not carefully ordered.  Your body’s response to the impact may by, and probably is, masked by the shock condition.  This means you may not feel the pain that indicates injury.  To be on the safe side, stay where you are until emergency personnel arrive.  If you have a cell phone, and are able to make a call, call 911 immediately.  It is likely that good Samaritans will arrive at your vehicle before the emergency people do.  If so, tell them where you are injured, and allow them to make calls for you.  Do not allow them to move you unless there is an immediate danger if you stay where you are. 

If you are able, completely cooperate with the police.  This includes giving a statement to them about what happened.  It is also a good idea to ask the police officer if he/she has the names of all the witnesses.  Sometimes the witnesses approach the officer, but their names and addresses are not recorded by the officer.  Make sure you keep your insurance information in your glove compartment for easy reference .  If there is any question of injury, seek medical treatment immediately.  

If you require legal assistance, Young and Young is ready to assist you.  We represent seriously injured Hoosiers all over the State of Indiana out of our Indianapolis offices.

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I do not know any of the details of the Mr. Faris’ accident, but I want to take this time to talk about bike safety.  Bicyclists have a right to use the roadways.  Bicycling is good for so many reasons, not the least of which include improved physical fitness of the cyclist and conservation of fossil fuels.  I am both a cyclists and a motorist.  As a cyclist, I have encountered hostility from drivers. As a cyclist I have also encountered negligence by drivers, mostly those using cell phones, which have put me in danger.  As a motorist, I have encountered cyclists who do not observe the rules of the road and put themselves in danger, or at the least cause motorist frustration.

 There are a few ideas I always consider when I am a cyclist and a motorist that may help the situation.  Motorists:  Relax, you may get where you are going just a tad later than you wanted, but compared with a life time of guilt for that one moment of impatience getting there a little later is a small price to pay.  Get off the cell phone while you are driving.  In the context of this discussion,   it will save the health and welfare of a cyclist.  In the big picture it will save you from killing yourself.  Give the cyclist at least three- four  feet of leeway when passing.  This room will increase the safety for the cyclist immeasurably.  Do not yell at a cyclist as you pass them.  The cyclist has the right to use the road, and if they are using it responsibly, yelling at them does nothing but show you are at best impatient, and at worst a bone head.

Cyclists. Wear your helmet.  Be seen- Meaning wear light clothing, use flashing lights and use reflectors. Obey the rules of the road. Be careful.

I hope to see many more cyclists of the roads.  Let’s make sure everyone has a positive experience, and makes it home safe.

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When a person has private health insurance, the hospital submits the bills to the insurer, which then “writes down” the bill to the “Reasonable” charges for these medical services.  For those of you lucky enough to have private health insurance you have  seen this.  The hospital bill is say, $20,000.00.  The insurance company determines that the reasonable bill is $11,000.00 and the $9,000.00 is written off by the hospital.  Remember what I’m saying, the reasonable bill is only $11,000.00.  Therefore when the hospital writes off the other $9,000.00 they are agreeing the $9,000.00 is not reasonable. Now take the person without insurance, or the person with Medicare.  They are billed, by the hospital, $20,000.00.  There is no write down by an insurance company.  This person is obligated to pay the full $20,000.00 even though if they had private pay insurance, the hospital would have admitted that $9,000.00 of the bill is not reasonable.  That is not fair!!

In addition, when the money is collected through the injury claim, the private pay insurer has to share attorneys fees with the injured person.  Thus out of the $11,000.00 the injured party recovered from their suit, they have to pay the insurer 2/3rds of that amount because the injured party had to pay the attorney and it is only fair that the insurer has to pay also.  The hospital does not have to share the attorneys fees, they get all their money even though a large percentage of the money is  not a reasonable charge.

We say, change I.C. 32-33-4-1 to require that the injured person only has to pay the reasonable amount of charges, and that the hospital must pay their fair share of attorneys fees.

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Of course when someone is allowed to thumb their nose at their own personal responsibility a couple things happen.  First, the incentive to make property, products and other activities safe is reduced.  After all we all know that if there are no consequences, there is little incentive.  Second, the injured child will have to seek Medicare and disability.  So the Taxpayer is now the person responsible for cleaning up the mess.  The mess does not go away, we all now have to make up for what the person who caused the harm refuses to take care of.

We say, NO IMMUNITY!!!   If you cause a harm, be a human being, admit what you have done and be responsible for making it right.  We stand for what our mother knew was right.  We do not need greedy business’s, with political agendas, interfering with the truth.

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If you suffer serious personal injury in a car accident with a government employee, and you suffer paralysis that prevents you from working, you should not have to worry, as the government’s insurance company will be required to pay you fair compensation for your injuries right?  Wrong!!!  Government liability in Indiana is capped at $700,000.00 dollars.  So if your life time bills exceed that amount, you will be forced to go on social security and Medicare and the taxpayer is forced to pay for you medical bills.  As to recovering your lost wages, sorry, the Government is not responsible for that.

So you see, what your mother taught you does not apply to very select groups within our society.  The legislature has decided it knows better.  The legislature has decided that your mother was wrong when she taught you that if you cause harm to another you are fully responsible for making up for that harm.  The legislature has decided that personal responsibility applies to some but not all of us. I say this is not right.  I say that caps should be eliminated for everyone.  Everyone is responsible to fully make up for the harm they cause.  At the very least, Jurors should be told the truth about these caps at the time of trial.  At this time the jurors are told nothing about these caps.  As my father taught me, a half truth is a whole lie.

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Every person should be held responsible for their actions.  Currently, a person is held accountable for their actions, but only in part. Responsibility is based on fault and fault is determined by percents.  For example if a driver is 75% at fault for causing a serious injury, and the injured person is 25% at fault, the 75% responsible driver fairly compensates the injured driver by paying  75% of their damages.  However if the injured driver is 51 % at fault, and the other driver is 49% at fault, the other driver has no responsibility to fairly compensate any of the 49% of damages they caused.  In addition, the jury is not told this fact.  I suggest making two changes.  First, change the system so that the driver who causes any percent of a collision, is responsible for fairly compensating the injured driver equal to that percent of fault.  If they are 25% of fault, pay 25% of the injured person’s damages.  If they are 95% at fault they are responsible for compensating 95% of the damages.  After all it is only fair that a person be responsible only for that percent of harm they cause. Second, tell the jury the truth about how the system works. Jurors are smart.  Jurors do not become frivolous just because they are sitting in the jury box.  Jurors listen to the evidence and try to follow the instructions.  Tell them the truth and let them do their job.

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