Indiana Personal Injury Lawyers » Highway Accident

Motor Cycle Safety and Serious Personal Injury

John Young — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:14:08 +0000

Yesterday was a glorious day. A friend called and invited me to the Indianapolis Moto Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The weather was perfect. The fans were excited. The food was delicious and the racing was incredible. I marveled at the bravery and skill of the riders as they sped along at speeds of up to 190 miles per hour. This got me to thinking. There was one collision in the two races I saw. This collision occurred on the last lap at the last turn of the Indianapolis Moto Grand Prix. Three riders were neck and neck going into the last turn. Each was desperate to pass the other. One rider dipped low to pass on the inside. In order to hold his line he put a huge amount of pressure on the front wheel, but it did not hold and he slid out, off the bike and into last place of the active riders. He tried, but it did not pay off. So, how is it that bikers going that fast, in close contact with all the other riders and no one is seriously injured or killed?

In my opinion, the greatest danger to the safety minded biker is the other guy. So often the car does not take time to see what is clearly there. It may be because the driver is used to seeing a larger object and reacting to that. It may be that the driver is not taking enough time to check his blind spot on to look back a second time for oncoming traffic. Whatever the reason, a major cause of serious injury and wrongful death of Hoosier motorcyclist is having a car turn in front of them, or pull out in front of them. In either event, there is little time for the biker to react and avoid impact. As the biker is usually thrown from the bike serious personal injury such as brain injury, spinal cord injury, paralysis, broken bones, and amputation can occur.

Fellow Hoosiers, please take a little bit of extra time to make sure you are not about to pull out in front of a biker. Look over your shoulder after checking your mirrors, but before merging into the next lane to make sure a biker is not riding along there. Just a little bit of extra time can save the biker from a lifetime of pain and misery. It will also allow you to avoid the burden of guilt such a crash will leave behind.

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Riding in Bed Of Pickup leads to Personal Injury

John Young — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:40:32 +0000

As I was driving home, the other day, from our Personal Injury law firm, I saw a site that never ceases to amaze me. I was stopped at the intersection of Delaware Street and Fall Creek Parkway on the near north side of Indianapolis. I was the first car at the intersection waiting for the light to change. The speed limit on Fall Creek is in the 30-45 mph range. A pickup truck was travelling east on Fall Creek. In the bed of the truck, sitting on camp chairs, You know the type-cloth with a metal frame that squeeze shut and fit into a small bag, was what appeared to be a grandmother, and two small children. Their hair was blowing and their faces were impassive, as if this was the most common thing in the world. Of course the children do not know what danger they are in, but the driver and the grandmother must know the danger, and yet they apparently do not care.

While riding in a car or truck, a person is travelling at the same speed as the vehicle. If the vehicle has to make a quick stop, the people in the bed are going to keep moving because they have no brake (ie the seatbelt). So they either fly out of the truck bed or they hit the truck itself. A quick stop is the least dangerous action, and it can result in death or serious personal injury, so you know all the other actions, (hitting another car, swerving, rolling) can only lead to worse results. Ejection from a vehicle almost always lead to serious personal injury such as brain injury, broken bones, spinal cord injury and paralysis, amputations and wrongful death. The only way to avoid such results is to not ride in the bed of a pickup. Do not allow your friends or family to do it. In this instance an ounce of prevention avoids a lifetime of whoa, or worse yet wrongful death.

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Photograph or Video When Someone is Injured Says Indiana Injury Attorney

Fred Crow — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:08:30 +0000

If you are a witness to someone being injured or are injured yourself it is important to get photographs or video of the scene of the injury at the time or as near the time of the event as possible. Subjects for photographing could include vehicles location, damages and people at the scene. Other subjects for video or photographs could include stairs ,walkways,ice conditions etc.The importance of documenting the scene of the injury may not seem important at the time but months later when trying to describe why or how someone was injured the video or photographs can be extremely important to show just exactly what occurred. E.G. if a store says wet floor signs were in place , photos taken at the time showing no signs can help to establish the truth of what actually occurred. Most everyone has a cell phone with some video capability.If you are injured then obtaining this information can be invaluable later on.IF you witness someone being injured then taking pictures or video can be invaluable to them at a later date. You should always be sure that you give your name and contact information to the injured person or someone who knows them. By taking these few measures you can assist in making sure that the truth of what occurred prevails.

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Horseplay is Dangerous Driving

John Young — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:28:33 +0000

As your Indiana Serious Injury Lawyers, we at Young and Young want you to talk with your kids about horseplay. Horseplay is any action of a passenger or passengers, that distracts the driver of a car. Horseplay can be as dangerous as drunk driving. The reason we have drunk driving accidents is because the driver’s reflexes are too slow and their thinking is impaired. We have talked quite a bit about the dangers of drunk driving and drunk driving accidents. A car can be, in the hands of a driver who is not fully attuned to the road, a dangerous machine. Passengers, do not take actions that will demand the attention of the driver away from the road.

A collision in Noblesville, over the holiday weekend, is more evidence of the dangers associated with distracting a driver. Nicholas Killinger was northbound on Ind. 37, just south of 206^th street, when he was distracted by a passenger. Killinger’s pickup truck crossed the center line on collided head-on with a Kia Spectra driven by Daniel Stone. Daniel Stone, and his passenger, Lisa Stone both suffered wrongful death as a result of Mr. Killinger being distracted. Mr. Killinger’s passengers were seriously injured in the accident.

Anything that distracts a driver away from their duty of operating a car safely must be avoided. Other examples of common distractions include texting while driving, driving while talking on the cell phone, reading anything such as a map or a paper, the list goes on and on. If you must do anything that will take your attention away from the road, please pull of the road to a safe location and take care of your business. After you have safely concluded your work, drive again. Parents, please have this discussion with your children. Children, please have this conversation with your parents and your friends. We all want to get where we are going safely. Avoiding distracted driving will help us all.

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Indiana Serious Injury Lawyer knows Speed Kills

John Young — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:35:50 +0000

It is a common headline, but when it is somebody famous the point is publicized more. “Jackass” star Ryan Dunn died in a fiery car crash in suburban Philadelphia early Monday morning. Of the more shocking details of this crash include that Mr. Dunn texted a picture of himself drinking not long before the crash, the car left over one hundred feet of skid marks, the car was unrecognizable, for a while the damage left the passenger unrecognizable, the car was travelling well over one hundred miles an hour. Speed Kills. It causes wrongful death and spinal cord injuries, paraplegia, and brain injury, broken bones and leaves families shattered.

It robs us of so much. Where is James Dean, Princess Diana and Harry Chapin?

Speed does not just kill famous people. Our hearts go out to the parents of two young men killed in Muncie, Indiana where authorities believe speed cost the young men their lives. Myles Swoboda, and Jake C. Monroe both suffered wrongful death in a crash involving speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.

Parents, share these stories with your young drivers, it may save their lives.

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Serious Injury Lawyer Says Watch Out For Cyclists

John Young — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:57:54 +0000

The roads are not reserved for the two four wheel variety of transportation. Now that the warm months are upon us, we are seeing more bicycles and motorcycles sharing our roads. This recognition is the first essential in helping to protect our two wheeled Hoosiers. Cyclist are not generally as visible as a car. So, all drivers must keep in mind to be on the lookout for them. Keep in mind that if you hit a cyclist and cause serious personal injury, such as a spinal injury, paraplegia, broken bones or even wrongful death, you may not be able to forgive yourself. Knowing that you have interfered with a fellow Hoosier’s ability to work, earn a living and support their family is a heavy burden.

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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Indiana Auto Accident Attorney talks about “The Blind Spot” and Defensive Driving

John Young — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:37:30 +0000

Yesterday, I was coming back to our serious injury offices in Indianapolis, from Richmond. We just concluded a significant hearing. I was travelling west on I-70 near the Keystone interchange (Mile marker 83.5, just east of the I-65-I-70 split). At that location, I-70 is five lanes wide. I was in the second lane from the right. (I was travelling the speed limit, but there is not much of that at that location). There was a small car to my right. My front bumper was just about even with his back bumper. I was in his blind spot. He put on his left turn signal and immediately started to move into my lane. He obviously did not know I was there and did not bother to turn his head to look before moving over. There were cars immediately to my left so I could not move left. Although there was a car on my tail I hit the brakes and the car moved into my lane with about ten feet to spare.

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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Indiana Serious Injury Attorney Discusses What to Do If You are in Collision

John Young — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:11:51 +0000

I was reading in the paper today about a hit and run collision which caused the wrongful death of one Hoosier and seriously injured another. Apparently David Smith and Jason Pedigo were hit by a ford traveling east on Morris Street. Mr. Smith was killed. There is some indication that that two men were walking in the travel lane of Morris Street at the time of the collision. However, this does not justify the driver of the Ford in leaving the scene of the collision. We may never know, but what if Mr. Smith could have survived if the driver of the Ford stopped and immediately called for medical help? This series of events started me thinking about what the average driver should know and do if there is a collision.

The first thing to do is to stop and stay at the scene of the accident. Sometimes it is a tricky call as to whether you should move the cars if you are able. If the damage is slight and there are no injuries, it may be helpful to move the cars out of traffic to help keep traffic moving and to protect the drivers and their passengers from another collision. You should assess whether you are hurt and if anyone else in the car is hurt. If there is any question have the injured person stay put. Sometimes adrenaline surges through the body after a collision, masking pain. Keep this in mind. If you have a cell phone call 911 and ask for a police officer and emergency aid. If you can walk and talk without endangering yourself, effort should be made to talk with the other driver. You will want to exchange insurance information and addresses and telephone numbers. You should always keep you insurance information in your glove compartment just in case of an accident. You may also want to call family to let them know what has happened. You may want to consider and ICE button on your phone. ICE stands for in case of an emergency and should be the number of the person(s) most likely to be able to assist you.

Being involved in a collision involves time and forethought. If you are prepared and keep your cool, you will reduce stress and make the process less scary.

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Things you should know before you are in an accident, Part 2 – Indiana Auto Accident Lawyers

Fred Crow — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:56:00 +0000

#2 ALWAYS REPORT AN EVENT TO YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY

This may seem contrary to your own best interest , however if you have been injured in a auto crash, construction accident or other event that leaves you with lost wages ,disabled , impaired or with other injuries it is best to make your insurance aware as soon as possible so they can start a file(this will often preclude a later denial for failure to timely report a claim). The insurance company you should contact is not only your auto policy ,but your health insurance , disability , homeowners , workmen’s compensation and even life insurance where appropriate. The reason you should let them know is to find out if they provide any benefits(which you have already paid a premium for) that might help you as you work your way through the process of trying to get your life back to normal.I have had clients who did not want to report a case to their insurance company because they thought it would raise their rates. My response is always the same. You have already paid for this coverage. They can’t raise your rate for using coverage you have already paid for. It would be like going to the grocery and getting some steaks on sale for $3.99 per pound and at the check out counter they tell you if you take home the steaks and eat them then the next time they will charge you more. No one would go back to that store and no insurance company should ever try to pull that line on one of there insured. So if the occasion arises where you are injured in a crash or accident then be sure to list the insurance’s companies that you have (and pay premiums to ) that might apply and at least report the claim. There are times when they might not have any coverage’s that apply and others where they do at that time or at a latter time(e.g. if you later find out that the drunk driver who crashed into did not pay his premiums and is uninsured).

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Auto Accident Pictures Don’t Always Tell The Whole Story – Indianapolis Auto Accident Lawyer

Jim Young — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:18:50 +0000

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Often this is true, but not always. Over many years in our practice as personal injury attorneys, we have been involved in a number of cases for people who have suffered spinal injuries, head injuries, broken bones etc. in car accidents where the damage to the car itself is minimal. In these types of cases, insurance company representatives argue that there is no way the person riding in the car could have any serious injuries because “there is no damage to the car—look at the pictures!”.

This argument ignores, however, rules of physics regarding the transfer of energy. Simply put, the steel car, weighing several tons, may not show the effects of the collision enough to show up in pictures, because the energy from the crash travels through the rigid structure of the car without much change in the car until it gets to the soft tissues of the human being driving the car. There the force of the energy still remaining, is often times, more than enough to injure the driver or passenger. An example of this flow of energy, is the novelty item we have all seen where six or seven steel balls are suspended from a rod, lined up so they are in contact with each other. When the end ball is pulled back and released, it strikes the next ball in line. The energy does not move all of the balls though. Rather, it travels through four or five of the balls and the last one in line is catapulted outward. That ball then snaps back and the energy is passed back through to the first one again and so on. This is the same transfer of energy from a striking car, traveling through the car it has hit, and then into the soft tissues of the bodies of the occupants.

We also have seen or heard of crashes where the cars are totally smashed and obliterated but the driver walks away unharmed. So the next time someone says there is no way a person could have been hurt in a car just because the pictures of the car don’t show any damage, remind them that because of energy management principles, the pictures may not tell the whole story. Drive safe!

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