Many rehabilitations hospitals exist in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, including the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indianapolis, and Hook Rehabilitation Hospital. These hospitals focus on helping patients continue their recovery by focusing on the therapies and teaching techniques that will allow the revering patient to step back into their normal lives. These facilities are generally less expensive than the acute care hospitals. There are no surgeries performed at these hospitals, they do not have emergency rooms nor do they have intensive care facilities. The medical staff generally uses a team approach to help patients further their recovery. The team may include a Physiatrist (a doctor that specializes in physical and rehabilitation medicine), a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist, educators who specialize in dietary needs, and transition back to home living.

If you, or a loved one, are told that you will be transferred from the hospital to a rehabilitation hospital, rest assured it is in your best interest.

Share on Facebook

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.

Share on Facebook

 This can be the difference between having to sell everything you own, or losing your home to the tax sale and making it.

Share on Facebook

 The OSHA rules and regulations are the minimum standards that must be employed for safety at a construction site. There is nothing to prevent an employer from requiring more safety on the job site although they rarely do so.  We see quite a bit of lip service from employers about their compliance with OSHA rules and regulations, and yet construction site accidents continue to occur with alarming frequency.  Despite the employers claims that safety is their main concern, we regularly find employers which place untrained, or more frequently under trained, personnel in charge of safety.  Often times these same folks have a number of other responsibilities on the work site, leaving them little time for safety enforcement.  This is unfortunate because it is themselves they are hurting.  Mom was right an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Construction site Injuries are usually severe where falls from heights, injuries from moving machinery and falling objects can cause serious injuries such as spinal cord injury (paralysis), brain injury and even wrongful death. The impact on the families of these workers is pretty obvious.  However what is not so obvious is the cost to the employer.  When these accidents occur, generally work comes to a halt.  An investigation must be performed and reports filed.  OSHA inspectors may investigate and cause further shut downs or interruptions in the work.  The worker must be cared for and or replaced.  All of this costs the employer a great deal more in money and man hours than is justified by taking short cuts with safety and saving a few bucks in so doing.

Although it was not a construction site injury, it was an injury that compliance with OSHA rules and regulations would have prevented. In October, 2010, Declan Sullivan was filming the Notre Dame football team for the university.  He was assigned to use a “scissors lift” so he could film the team from over head.  Scissors lifts are prone to be unsteady in high winds due to their design and thus, rules and regulations are in place to prevent their use in certain windy conditions.  Notre Dame ignored these rules and Declan Sullivan died a wrongful death.  Our sympathies go out to Mr. Sullivan’s family.  If the University would have followed the rules, Mr. Sullivan probably would be filming spring practice now; the University would not have to pay the $77,500.00 fine imposed by the Indiana Department of Labor; and no other legal proceedings would be necessary.

Share on Facebook

 Now to some of these questions.  Are you eligible?  There are two kinds of Social Security Disability benefits.  The first is Title II Disability.  You are eligible for Title II Disability if you are disabled and you have worked, and paid into the FICA tax fund, for 5 out of the last 10 years.  Paying the FICA tax is like paying the premium for your disability insurance.  If you are disabled, but have not worked enough, then you may be eligible for Title XVI Supplemental Security Income.  This is essentially a welfare program.  You must be disabled, but there is not the work requirement.  There are many conditions and restrictions associated with SSI, too many to discuss here.  

How much will my monthly benefits be?  This depends on whether you are eligible for Title II  or Title XVI.  Title XVI pays less, and the maximum payment is in the $700.00 dollar range.  If you are eligible for Title II your benefits will depend on your earnings.  The hirer the earnings the higher the benefit.  The minimum will be in the area of five hundred dollars, in which case you may also be eligible for SSI, the maximum is in the $2,500.00 dollar range.  Yes, if you are eligible for benefits your under age 18 children will also be eligible. 

 The Social Security Administration uses a very precise set of regulations to determine if you are disabled.  There are much too many rules to go into here.  Suffice it to say, the most important rule for you to remember is that in order to be found disabled, the Social Security Administration will require you to show proof you are disabled.  This proof comes in the form of medical records of tests, examinations and treatment.  Without good medical records it is nearly impossible to obtain your benefits.

Share on Facebook

 Remember, the Social Security Administration is not going to take your word for it that you cannot walk effectively.  You will require a doctor to confirm that you cannot walk effectively and why you cannot walk effectively.  In other words, if your doctor is willing to write a note for you in support of your application, the doctor must include your diagnosis, abnormal signs and symptoms and why those issues make it impossible for you  to ambulate effectively.  Without this supporting information, the doctor’s report will do little good.  If you have any questions about Social Security Disability, call John P. Young.  He will talk to you personally, no paralegals.  He will personally prepare you for your hearing and attend the hearing with you.  With over 23 years of experience and hundreds of  hearings personally attended, Mr. Young is the Indiana Social Security Lawyer to help you.

Share on Facebook

So, we ask you, why would a system that promotes these values be under constant attack?  Why are our legislatures so intent on stripping the people of the protections offered by the tort system?  A logical response is that our legislative bodies are controlled by the moneyed interests.  Lobbyists, corporations with huge amounts of money,influence lawmakers to do their bidding. Why would corporations spend money to attack the tort system?  Said another way, why would corporations spend money to restrict your right to be fairly compensated if you are injured by another’s negligence? Behind every car accident there are two insurance companies, one for each car.  One of those companies now has the legal obligation to pay the injured party to make up the harm caused by their insured.  Every dollar the insurance company pays out in fair compensation is one less dollar of profit.  The profits for these companies are huge.  These huge profits justify the obscene amount of money these companies spend to influence lawmakers to restrict your rights and as a consequence increase their profits.  Remember, the good hands people, despite their warm and fuzzy commercials, are a for profit corporation and if they do not have to compensate you fairly they make more money.  Said another way, if they do not have to compensate the bread winner who can no longer work, you and I will have to take care of the injured person through Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

You might say it can’t be that bad, but it can be.  Our world will become a more dangerous place unless we the people stand up and tell our lawmakers that what our mothers taught is is right and we are not going to let it go.  We have the right to be fairly compensated if we are hurt.  It is a matter of honor to make up for the harm we cause.  Corporate self interest cannot warp mother’s words.

Share on Facebook

At Young and Young, we know that what Hoosier mothers have been teaching their children for years rings most true. If you make a mess, you are responsible for making up for the harm caused by the mess. If you make a mess you make up for it 100%. You do not say I will fix half the broken window, you say, I will fix the window. If you break an arm, you do not say I will pay for half the arm, and none of the lost wages or pain. You pay for the medical bills. You pay for the lost wages. You pay for the future medical bills. You pay for the pain and you pay for the permanent injury. Your mother knew what was right, and so do you.

We are sad to report the loss of a young man in an all too common trap. Jarrod Polston, a freshman at IU was drinking and apparently taking some type of drug while visiting a friend at Ball State University. Apparently Mr. Polston passed out, threw up and choked on his own vomit. We lose the well known and the lesser knowns to this phenomenon frequently. Jimi Hendrix, Janice Joplin and other rock musicians have been taken from us in this way, One of the common threads is youth. Youth is a wonderful thing, but it is frought with peril and bad decisions. We only hope that some good can come from the loss of Mr. Polston, that others will learn from his experience and will say no to binge drinking and say no to taking drugs. Our condolences go out to Mr. Polston’s family and friends.

Share on Facebook

Recent news reports indicate that a man died from an explosion caused by fumes  from propane tanks and gas tanks exploding.  The lesson to take from this is never bring propane tanks and or gas cans into the house where they are likely to be placed in a confined space.  The fumes from these items are heavier than air and will fill a room without warning to the occupant.  As these fumes are highly flammable, even a static electricity shock can be enough to cause an explosion.  You should never store these items in the basement.  Often times the pilot light from a furnace or a water heater are enough to ignite the fumes and cause an explosion.  Burns are extremely painful and leave lifetime scarring. Please be exceptionally careful when working with and storing flammables.

In another incident a northern Indiana man was killed when a forklift he was repairing fell on him. Mark Cripe was pronounced dead at the scene.  He was working on the machine alone when the accident occurred.  OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is investigating the incident.  We send our condolences to Mr. Cripes family and wish them the best in these trying times.  The family is encouraged to file a Workers Compensation claim.  These funds will help the family weather the storm financially.  In addition, the family should file for social security benefits to help the children pay for expanses Mr. Cripe would have been covered if he were alive and able to work.

If you, a loved one, or a friend have been injured, and that injury was caused by another person, call John P. Young.  The call is toll free, 1-866-639-5161 or on line at john@youngandyoungin.com.  Mr. Young guarantees that he will not charge a fee unless you receive compensation for your injuries.

Share on Facebook

It is for these reasons that significant jobsite safety rules and regulations apply to construction sites.  The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) issues rules and regulations which must be followed on any job site.  These rules and regulations exist because what might seem like an obviously dangerous situation (especially after the injury has occurred) are not obvious at all.  OSHA rules and regulations exist to prevent the worker from being exposed to a dangerous situation and thus reduce the potential for those injuries.  You can access OSHA rules and regulations at www.OSHA.gov.   OSHA is administered by the United States Department of Labor.   The standards issued by OSHA can be located at 29 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Section 1926 and following.  These standards are published on the web at the OSHA website.

Why are these standards so vital?  Why is it wrong when insurance companies want to eliminate safety standards in order to, as they wrongly claim, make us more competitive?  The reason is that 5,214 workers died on the job in 2008.

It is easy to think in the abstract that we should eliminate safety rules to gain a competitive advantage, but that is wrong thinking.  It is wrong for many reasons.  The words of Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor sum up the most important reason well: "With every one of these fatalities, the lives of a worker’s family members were shattered and forever changed. We can’t forget that fact."  This loss represents hundreds of thousands of lost productive hours.  When the worker is injured, we have lost productivity, but we also have medical expense, lost wages from which taxes are paid,lost purchasing power to energize the economy, and in many instances welfare costs to support the worker and their families which the worker cannot support.

If you, or a loved one, have been injured in a construction accident, call John P. Young, toll free, at 1-888-639-5161 or on the web at john@youngandyoungin.com for a personal, confidential and free of charge consultation.  Young and young has been continuously representing Hoosiers injured in construction accidents since 1954.  Put our experience to work for your families well being.

Share on Facebook