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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We all know that small children do not understand the dangers associated with moving cars.  We know they are impulsive and we know that even if they are carefully instructed about cars and streets, they may not always follow the rules that adults and older children will follow.  Finally, we know that if a car hits a small child, serious personal injury and even wrongful death are likely results. So, I ask you to take the drive smart Kids Dart warnings seriously.  One way to drive smart is to see every little child as a stop sign.  If you are driving down the road, especially in a residential neighborhood, if you see a child, no matter how old, assume there are other, younger children around, even if you cannot see them.   You may not see them because they are behind cars or trees or other objects, or they are just so small they are hard to see.  So, you see the child, you take your foot off the gas, you may coast, but as you approach the child, your foot moves towards the brakes.  Maybe, even likely you will not come to a stop, but you are travelling at a speed which will allow you to stop instantly if a small child appears.  No matter how important that meeting, no matter where you need to be, 2-3 extra minutes will not kill you.  However, will you ever be able to forgive yourself if you seriously injure or cause the wrongful death of a small child?

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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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 I wish Clarence, the Angel, could be with them as they realize the horror they feel when they realize that it was their own lack of caring for the welfare of others that has inflicted these agonies upon them.  Clarence would point out, as they are screaming, “No”, that it is their face upon which they must look as blame is being assessed and meted out.  I wish I could be there as Clarence takes each of them into his arms and comforts them.  Clarence will ask, “Do you believe in the sanctity of life?” and they will sob “I do”. Clarence will ask, “Do you understand the searing pain you cause when you think of no one but yourself?” and they will cry out, “I do, God help me, I do!”. Clarence will ask, “What will you do now?” and they will come to themselves at the stop light, just before the school Zone, sweating and shaking and sobbing, but they will know that honoring the safety rules designed to protect our children is their duty.  They will thank the Lord it was a dream, and smile at the faces of our children from 25 miles per hour and get where they are going three minutes later.

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Your best defense is buying three different kinds of insurance in addition to your liability coverage.  The first two are very similar and are called Uninsured Motorist coverage (UM) and then Underinsured motorist coverage (UIM). If the drunk driver, or any driver, has no insurance your claim will be against your own UM coverage.  If the other driver has state minimum coverage then your claim will be against your own UIM coverage because the State minimum coverage was not enough to cover all your losses.  I recommend you purchase as high a limit of UM/UIM coverage as you can afford.  After all, it may be the only insurance available if you have a serious personal injury or even a wrongful death.

The other type of insurance is medical payments insurance.  This insurance will pay your medical bills, up to the limit of coverage you purchase, for injuries sustained while a passenger in your car. It is a kind of health insurance. It comes in very handy when you have a high deductible on your regular health policy.  Med Pay Insurance is very affordable.  I recommend that you buy as much as you can, but at a minimum you should buy an amount equal to your deductable on your health insurance.  That way you will have little or nothing out of pocket if you are hurt in a crash or accident.

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 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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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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 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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