Indiana Injury Law Blog

As Lake County personal injury lawyers representing victims of auto and truck accidents and medical malpractice in Merrillville and around the county, we know it hasn’t been a great year for many Hoosiers. What has been very alarming for us is the fact that so many issues that have challenged Indiana over the past year, greatly threatened the health and safety of its residents.
Merrillville struggled with a budget deficit in 2009. As part of payment of its utility bills to the Northern Indiana Public Service Company, many street lights in the town had to be shut off. As many as 300 streetlights have been shut off to save on electrical costs and cut utility debt. However, this creates unsafe conditions for motorists and motorcyclists. As Indiana car accident lawyers, we have been especially concerned about the high risk to motorcyclists and bicyclists who use the streets at night.
A pedestrian bridge disaster at the Hidden Lake Park on the 4th of July injured dozens of people. Many of these people suffered serious injuries like spinal cord injuries that may impact their lives for a long time.
Across the state too, we continued to have problems that impact the safety of Indiana’s residents. Northwest Indiana still has no trauma center, and seriously injured accident victims need to be airlifted to trauma centers elsewhere in the state during the “golden hour” when a person has maximum chances of surviving an accident.
Last month, more than 40 truck inspectors in Indiana were laid off as the state government grappled with a budget shortfall. This means fewer inspectors to conduct those essential road side inspections and spot checks of tractor trailers and 18 wheelers, exposing motorists and truckers to the risk of accidents.
In the New Year, we would like to see our city and county authorities take better charge of our finances, so we are not reduced to drastic cost cutting measures like switching off lights and laying of dozens of truck inspectors. This year hasn’t been the best in terms of public safety for people in Indiana, and as Indiana personal injury lawyers , we hope 2010 is safer for all

As Indiana trucking accident lawyers, we regularly follow developments in the trucking industry. It's encouraging to see that the American Trucking Association has thrown its weight behind a new bill that will ban texting for all drivers, including commercial motor vehicle drivers and passenger vehicle drivers.

The texting bill is called the Avoiding Life Endangering and Reckless Texting By Drivers Act, has been introduced by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and will require that states ban texting within the next two years, or risk losing 25 percent of their annual highway funding. The texting ban is especially important in the light of the recent Distracted Driving Summit in Washington, that focused on motorist distractions, including texting and cell phone use.

While the support for Senator Schumer's bill has been good to note, we wish the trucking industry would also recognize the dangers that arise when truckers use computers in their cabs. Trucking groups have been quick to support a texting ban, but not as keen on banning the use of these computerized devices. More and more companies are investing in computers in truck cabs that allow them to send out new orders and messages to truckers around the country. These computers can be a serious distraction to truckers. Studies have shown that truck drivers don’t always pull over when they need to use their computer. This means that the operator of a 57-foot long, 80,000 pound truck could be distracted by the computer in his cab, endangering the safety of motorists nearby.

The American Trucking Association has also adopted policy statements that have the potential to impact truck safety in Indiana and around the country. It has expressed support for the use of onboard safety systems on trucks. These safety systems like brake monitoring systems, automated transmissions and vehicle stability control systems can minimize the risk of accidents. However, the ATA insists that trucking companies be offered financial incentives to adopt these systems.

The ATA is also calling for promoting driving education among new motorists to include awareness of driving safely around 18 wheelers. As Indiana truck accident lawyers, it's a matter of concern to us that motorists may be unaware of basic trucking safety facts, like the fact that an 18-wheeler takes a much longer time to come to a complete stop after the brakes are applied. Besides, truck drivers may not be able to see a motorist if he falls in the trucker's blind spot. New motorists can benefit from learning how to drive safely around a tractor trailer.

For years people have had an understanding that the reason insurance premiums have risen is due to the fact that too many lawsuits are filed and frivolous claims are being made. Lawyers have been the targets.

According to an article in the New York Times, Earnings for Insurers are Soaring, Joesph B. Treaster informs us that natural disasters, the terrorist attacks in 2001, and strong investment returns are deemed responsible for high insurance premiums.

In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina and other storms, insurers paid out $61 billion for damages and still ended up with a profit of $43 billion that adds to a decades-long earning streak with the exception of the terrorist attacks in 2001 when there was a loss of $7 billion that staggered the insurers. Although the insurers have been raising prices since the attacks, their underwriting losses declined from $52.6 billion in 2001 to $4.9 billion in 2003. In 2004, the insurers made a $4.3 billion profit on underwriting.