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 you doubt how dangerous texting and driving is Mr. Harrison could come to your home and give you a firsthand demonstration.  Imagine if someone had been sitting in that building in Harrison’s path.  Imagine it was a mother and two children.  Imagine it was you and your children or grandchildren.  Mr. Harrison’s thoughtless actions could have resulted in the wrongful death of fellow Hoosier.  It could have resulted in serious personal injury such as  spinal cord injury, brain injury, broken bones, paralysis.  It could have wiped out a family or taken the bread winner from their family.  No good comes from texting and driving.  It is a selfish and thoughtless act.  It demonstrates a complete lack of concern for the welfare of our fellow Hoosiers.  Mr. Harrison, you were lucky. Take this opportunity to make a difference.  Never text and drive again.  Do what you can to get this message out.

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Sue Ann Vanderbeck is struggling with the guilt and consequences of her negligence this very moment. (Remember, negligence is the failure to use reasonable care, in other words to be on the lookout for a cyclist and avoid impact).  On September 30, 2010, at about 12:30 a.m. Mrs. Vanderbeck struck a police officer on a training ride on U.S. 40 west of Knightstown, IN.  She left the scene.  William Phillips suffered wrongful death as a result of her actions.  I am certain that not a moment goes by that Mrs. Vanderbeck does not wish that she could change the events of that night and let Officer Phillips return to his family. Unfortunately for all involved, that is not possible.

Take a lesson from the tragedy of Officer Williams and Mrs. Vanderbeck, keep an extra sharp lookout for cyclists sharing the road.  An ounce of prevention prevents a lifetime of guilt, grief and loss.

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 To my surprise, he just kept moving left.  The car to my left hit the brakes and the merging car barely missed him, then his luck ran out.  The merging car kept on going, but in the next lane was a semi tractor-trailer.  The semi cannot slow as efficiently as a car and the merging car hit the semi on the passenger front corner.  The merging car was suddenly fully in front of the semi being pushed down the road.  The driver of the merging car could only see the grill of the semi as he looked left.  Unfortunately both the semi and the merging car were not only moving down the road, they were also merging into the left lane.  An SUV clipped either the merging cars front or the semi’s front lost control and started to roll.  The SUV landed on the wheels.  I do not know what happened to the merging car.  I pulled over, called 911 reported the collision, gave the State Police my name and telephone number.  I thought about going back to the scene, but many, many people had already stopped to help and I was on the opposite side of the highway from where they all came to a stop, so to reach the scene I would have had to cross three lanes of traffic, which oddly enough barely seemed to slow down.

 The point of this story is that we want to you to be careful when merging into another lane.  Every car has a blind spot.  To properly merge you must signal your intent and then look to make sure no one is in your blind spot.  If the merging car, in my story, had followed this simple rule, there would have been no collision and several families would have made it home safe.

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Remember a couple things about cars and water.  Do not panic.  The car will float for a few minutes giving you time to plan.  Because the water on the outside of the car is heavy and is pushing against your door, it will not be possible to open the door until the car fills with water.  If this is the only way out, stay calm as the water fills the car, then open the door and swim out.  Most retention ponds are less than 10 feet deep, giving you opportunity to reach the surface and swim to shore.  Remember, if the car ignition is still on, the electrical system is still on.  This mean the electric windows will still operate.  If you choose this route of escape, when the window is lowered, water will rush in and will block your exit until the water  fills most of the car. As hard as it will be to wait, do so.  Fighting the rush of water will only cause you to tire  and will not be effective.  You will need your energy to swim, save it. Some companies sell a hammer like device to allow you to break a window to get out.  If you use this method, you will also have a rush of water into the car when the window is broken.  Don’t panic, wait and when the car fills swim out.  All this is easy to say when the panic is not upon you, but if you mentally prepare, you will have a better chance of survival.

About Pools:  Designate someone to be the eyes on the pool, more than one is better.  Do not talk to that person while they are working. Children die in the blink of an eye.  An 8 year old girl died in a Brownsburg pool when 50 or more people were standing by, apparently no one designated to watch the pool. Our sympathies go out to the family of Aalayah L. Willis. Please do not let another precious child out of sight.  Watch those pools.

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It is amazing how fast bad things can happen at a pool.  It seems everyone else is watching the children in the pool and it turns out nobody is.  To combat this there should be a designated lifeguard.  If the pool does not supply one, then the parents at the pool should agree among themselves who will be the designated lifeguard.  This person should only be assigned a 15-20 minute shift and should be sober and responsible.  Once the shift is over, the next designated lifeguard should take watch.  The life guard should be able to swim, but if not, then to be able to operate a whistle or other attention grabbing device. The lifeguard’s job is to watch the activity in the pool.  They must avoid from getting into a conversation with anyone or taking pictures or anything else that will distract the life guard.   As we see with the young man discussed above bad things can happen in an instant.  Preparation and planning are your best defense against a life time of regret.

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 Two school buses collided yesterday.  The Mount Vernon School buses were carrying students in northwestern Hancock County.  The bad news is that about thirty children were injured.  The good news is that none of them were injured seriously.  The collision occurred when one bus rear ended another.  The bus driver told police that she was distracted because of a student acting up.  If this account is accurate, this student’s action, likely without any thought about the possible consequences, put the lives of all the children in danger. Parents, take this time to talk to your children about the danger of distracting the driver.  Tell them that if they are standing up in the bus while it is moving that their bodies are moving as fast as the bus and that if the bus has to stop quickly, their standing body  will continue to move at the same speed and will either hi a metal seat or another student, both likely to result in bad injuries.  Give them the tools to tell the other students, no, they are not going to do something dumb and put the others on the bus in danger.

In another story, two preteens were injured yesterday when the mini bike they were riding left the road and crashed.  Unfortunately, and as is likely to happen, the passenger, who had no control over the bike or where it was going was injured.  The passenger suffered significant brain injury and is a patient at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.  Although the story does not mention it, I will bet a dime two things combined to allow this to happen.  First, the children were not under the supervision of an adult.  As a corollary to this, the adults left the min bike is such a position as to allow the children access to it when they were not around.  The old saying is true, if something can happen, it will.  If a child can get to something they will use it.  The parents must make sure this cannot happen.  The second thing is that I bet the parents who bought the mini bike for the child did little or nothing to teach the child safe operation techniques.  Giving a child a mini bike and not teaching them safe riding techniques ids inviting a crash.  Parents, let this be a lesson.  Teach your children.  They are smart, they will learn.  Help them to help themselves and others.

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Construction is one of the most dangerous professions in the United States

The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is charged with investigating the facts of Mr. Gingery’s death, as well as any other construction accident resulting in death or serious injury to multiple construction workers. Indiana has adopted the Federal OSHA rules and regulations for the safety of construction workers.  This is administered under the Indiana Department of Labor. You may visit their website at http://www.in.gov/dol/iosha.htm.  The rules and regulations enforced by IOSHA can be found at http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owasrch.search_form?p_doc_type=STANDARDS&p_toc_level=1&p_keyvalue=Construction.  These rules and regulations cover all of the different facets of Construction safety.  It is our hope that all Indiana employers strive to meet all these rules and regulations for the safety of their employees and all other workers on the site.

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