Indiana Personal Injury Lawyers » Wrongful Death

Serious Personal Injury from Drunk Driving Accidents

John Young — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:45:25 +0000

There is a dirty little secret about drunk driving accidents in Indiana. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has done a tremendous job educating the public about the dangers of drunk driving accidents. Drunk Driving Accidents cause serious personal injury and wrongful death. Its affects reach to the families who lose their loved ones or who must become caregivers to those no longer able to do for themselves because of the injuries caused by drunk driving accidents. As we all know, a drunk driver is not a responsible member of society and may not have enough insurance to pay for the harm they cause. That is why, at Young and Young, we recommend that you make sure you have at least enough in “Medical Payments Insurance” to pay the deductible on your health insurance policy. This protects you against out of pocket expenses. Second, we recommend that you purchase as much Uninsured Motorist Coverage/Underinsured Motorist Coverage AS YOU CAN AFFORD. This insurance will pay for the damages you have, but for which the drunk driver does not have enough insurance to cover your losses and harms.

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.

Share on Facebook

Children Are Stop Signs

John Young — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:29:46 +0000

In my practice, as Indiana’s serious personal injury attorney, I see little children as in need of special protection. If you are driving down the road and you see a stop sign, you instinctively take your foot off the gas, you may coast a little, but you will move your foot to the break and stop at the stop sign, after all this is a rule of the road. It is a rule of the road that keeps everyone safe when we are moving 2000 plus metal objects down the road. If we think of the little child and the concept of the stop sign together we can see the wisdom in treating every little child as a stop sign.

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?

Share on Facebook

Fair Compensation is Not Vengeance

John Young — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:17:32 +0000

I read in the paper today about a family who lost their son in a tragic accident. The paper indicated that the family rejected vengeance (bringing a claim for wrongful death). The paper included the quote “Why would we want to deprive the University of resources which could benefit others?” We respect this family’s choices. We hope they find peace in the memories they have of their son. We hope that their sorrow eases, but we know that theirs is a difficult path.

We do want to say, however that fair compensation is not vengeance. Our mothers taught us that if you make a mistake, and that mistake causes others harm, you are honor bound to make up for the harm you cause. Your obligation is to make up for all the harm you cause, not just what you think is ok. Of course the person who has suffered the harm has every right to say to you, “Thank you for your offer to make up for the harm you caused, but I choose not to either ask for or receive this fair compensation.” However, if the injured person accepts your offer to fully make up for the harm that you caused, that does not mean that person is vengeful. It only means that they accept your offer to make up for the harm.

Insurance companies gain much by vilifying “fair compensation”.

The University at issue is well insured. There insurance rates will stay the same whether the families claim is or is not made. The University would not have to “divert resources”, because any payment would be from their insurance company.

Fair compensation is not vengeance. It is the ultimate recognition that our mothers are right, that we all have to live together and take care of each other.

Share on Facebook

Indiana Serious Personal Injury Lawyer Discusses Motor Cycle Safety

John Young — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:44:35 +0000

We see it quite frequently, a car pulls out in front of a motorcycle and causes serious personal injury or wrongful death of the motorcyclist. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the family of Hamilton County Sheriff Deputy Leanea Nyeayea. Deputy Nyeayea suffered wrongful death as the result of a collision at the intersection of Kessler Boulevard and Binford Boulevard this past weekend. Deputy Nyeayea leaves behind his wife and several children. This very unfortunate collision could have been avoided. We start by thinking that the car driver did no intentionally pull out in front of Deputy Nyeayea. Therefore, the driver must not have seen Deputy Nyeayea as the driver pulled out onto Binford. If the driver did not see what was plainly there to see, then one of two things probably occurred. The first is that the driver was in a hurry and simply glanced to the left as they rolled into the intersection. The glance did not provide the driver a full field of vision and therefore the driver did not see what was plainly there to see, i.e. Deputy Nyeayea on his motorcycle. The second possibility also involves the driver being in too much of a hurry. It is possible that Deputy Nyeayea was in the driver’s blind spot. We all know that cars have a blind spot. Based on this knowledge, it is our duty, as drivers, to take extra care to make sure a motorcyclist or car is not in the lane we wish to enter, before we even attempt to enter that lane.

Pulling out in front of a motorcycle causes serious risk of harm to the motorcyclist and can have terrible emotional and economic impact on the family. In addition, the driver of the car causing the collision, and the wrongful death, has to live with the haunting memory of what their failure to use reasonable care causes. Please be careful out there for your fellow Hoosiers, their families and your family.

Share on Facebook

Serious Personal Injury and Foreseeability

John Young — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:28:59 +0000

A tragedy has once again occurred at the Indiana State Fair. The canopy, or rigging, or roof (all terms bandied about to describe the structure) collapsed Saturday night killing five people. Christina Santiago, Glenn Goodrich, Nathan Byrd and Alina Bigjohny are gone. We have heard the pundits talking about the collapse. We have heard officials saying an investigation is underway. What we do not hear a lot about is the issue of foreseeability. No, this is not looking into a crystal ball to predict the future. This is the practice of learning from the past to make judgments about what is likely to happen in the future. With this in mind I offer a few insights.

Although Indiana is not in tornado alley, we do have our share of high speed wind events. In fact, we have such a good history of high wind events, we can predict, with confidence, that we will experience high wind events in August in Indianapolis. We rarely see tornados in August, so we can say with some certainty that we are not likely to see tornados in August in Indianapolis. But, we do see a lot of straight line winds. These winds are of high intensity over a very short period of time. These winds are observed to reach speeds of up to 100 miles per hour for very short blasts. We never know where they might hit, but we do know that they are very often associated with the beginning of a storm front where the changes in air temperature can be great.

So, what is foreseeable? It is foreseeable that we will see high speed straight line winds in August in Indiana. We do not know where they will appear, but they are most likely to appear at the beginning of a storm front.

Now, what do we know about temporary structures? Well in the case of the structure that collapsed, we know that it is big enough, and heavy enough that if it collapses and lands on people, it will likely cause serious injury and wrongful death. We also know that the closer the people are to the structure, the more likely they are to be killed and injured, if the structure collapses. Thus, it just makes sense that the structure be designed and erected knowing it may be in the path of a high speed wind event, and if therefore, it must be erected so that it can withstand that possibility.

I suggest to you it was foreseeable that high winds would hit the structure and if it was not erected to withstand those winds, it will collapse and seriously injure or cause the wrongful death of the innocents. I hope that a complete and accurate statement of what happened comes to the fore. In the mean time, our sympathies go out to the victims and their families.

Share on Facebook

Motorcyclist, Trucks and Wrongful Death

John Young — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:07:26 +0000

It is a fact of life, the rule of gross tonnage. This means that in a collision the vehicle with the highest gross tonnage is going to prevail. In the situation involving a motorcycle accident with a truck, the motorcyclist is in the greatest danger of serious personal injury or wrongful death. This is why it is so important for trucks to follow all safety rules and regulations to make sure their trucks are safe for operation on the road. It can fairly be said that truck failures have much to do with a failure of proper maintenance and inspections. It is not acceptable that a trucks brakes fail. It is not acceptable for two reasons, the first is that with regular maintenance, a trucks brakes will not fail. The second is because the harm a truck can do to a passenger in a car, or a rider of a motorcycle can be catastrophic. The damage is easy to imagine, broken bones, spinal cord injuries resulting in paralysis, brain injuries, amputations and wrongful death. It is hard to imagine having to endure these damages simply because the trucking company was taking short cuts and endangering people’s lives.

Just such a motorcycle crash happened in Indianapolis yesterday. The motorcyclist was exiting I465 onto west bound 56^th street. The motorcyclist had the right of way. As the motorcyclist entered the intersection, a box truck operated by Christopher Schell, of Kokomo, entered the intersection and struck the motorcycle causing the wrongful death of the rider. The truck was apparently towing a trailer and could not stop. Clearly it is foreseeable that if you increase the load a truck is pulling or carrying, you are going to increase the stopping distance and the pressure on the brakes. Although it is not yet known whether the brakes did not respond properly or the driver did not properly judge his stopping distance. In either event, an avoidable collision occurred and resulted in the wrongful death of an innocent Hoosier. Our sympathies go out to the family for their loss.

Share on Facebook

Damages can be to property(trees) as well as person

Fred Crow — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:06:34 +0000

We most often get calls when someone is seriously injured as a result of an auto accident or other event that causes wrongful death or injury as a result of negligence. Damages can come in the form of injury to property as well. A recent example is occurring in the form of damage to trees including mainly Norway spruce and white pines. A relatively new lawn care herbicide is believed to be causing damage to these trees which may require their removal and replacement. A recent notice from DuPont indicates that the herbicide Imprelis may be harming the trees. IF you have pines or spruce trees that appear to be dying in an area where this product was used you should call contact the State Chemist office (765-494-1582) and file a report to have your damage investigated and documented. If the damages were causes by negligent application then there may be insurance coverage to help defray the cost of removal and replacement. Another source to contact is your homeowners to see if you have purchased protection against these types of losses. In either situation a valuable tool to help prove the loss is an official investigation by the state chemist.

Share on Facebook

Motorcycle Helmets and Serious Personal Injury or Wrongful Death

John Young — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:43:22 +0000

I am always amazed at people I see riding bikes and scooters and motorcycles without helmets. I am even further amazed and how strongly some of these people feel about laws requiring the use of helmets. A couple years ago, the Indiana legislature was all set to pass a mandatory helmet law. On the day of the final vote several hundred motorcyclists filled the halls of the state house to voice their opposition to mandatory helmet laws. I understand smaller government, but I do not understand not wearing a helmet.

In what must be one of the most ironic stories of the year, Police say a motorcyclist participating in a protest ride against helmet laws died after he flipped over the bike’s handlebars and hit his head on the pavement. 55-year-old Philip A. Contos of Parish, N.Y., was driving a 1983 Harley Davidson with a group of bikers who were protesting helmet laws by not wearing helmets. He hit his brakes and toppled over the handlebars. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. Troopers say Contos would have likely survived if he had been wearing a helmet. We are saddened for Mr. Contos’ family. However, this story is a teaching moment. Helmets prevent more serious injuries. Helmets are comfortable. Helmets should be worn at all times.

I often wonder if the same folks who do not want to be told by the government to wear a helmet, have any objection to receiving social security and Medicare for the rest of their lives after a severe brain injury in a motorcycle accident. After all, for the rest of their lives the Government they did not want telling them what to do, will be telling them what to do for the rest of the lives.

Share on Facebook

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.

Share on Facebook

Indiana Serious Injury Attorneys Talk About Personal Responsibility

John Young — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:05:58 +0000

This week, Justice Holifield, a 13 year old student at Harshman Middle School in Indianapolis, along with other students decided to ride with their teacher, Kyle Bieda, to the store to pick up some necessary items for their participation in a band contest. The trip was innocent, no allegations of the type we are used to seeing when a sad story about a student and teacher usually make the papers. Unfortunately, the teacher, Kyle Bieda appears to have failed to yield the right of way to a semi-tractor trailer resulting in a highway accident that resulted in the wrongful death of Justice Holifield. Other students in the car sustained serious injury. We are certain that Kyle Bieda did not intend the harm caused, however, as we all are taught by our mothers, Kyle Bieda is responsible for making up for the harm caused by the negligence.

Kyle Bieda cannot change that his negligence caused Justice Holifield’s death. Kyle Bieda cannot take away the serious injuries to the other students, caused by his negligence. However he can compensate those families by paying for the medical bills, funeral bills and burial costs. He can compensate the families by making up for the pain he caused. He can compensate the families by making up for the loss of love he caused. He does this by being a good citizen and following the law that requires him, and every other driver, to maintain liability insurance on his car. His insurance will make up for the harm he caused as best as humans can possibly do after such a tragedy, by compensating the victims of his negligence.

As Mr. Bieda was taking the children to the store as part of his job, the school corporation’s insurance company will also have a responsibility to help make up for the harm caused. That is because Mr. Bieda’s work is a benefit to the School corporation and therefore the school corporation must share in the responsibility for the harm caused.

Our prayers and hopes go out to the family of Justice Holifield. We hope that he memories will sustain you through this very trying time.

Share on Facebook