January 28, 2010

Safe Driving Tips for Indiana Parents

toy%20car.jpgYou can have laws against using cell phones while driving to prevent auto accidents. In fact, if all goes well, Indiana will soon have a ban on text messaging while driving. However, what do you do about the nonstop distractions parents face every day as they drive their children to school, and elsewhere?

For too long, the topic of distracted driving has focused on the distractions to teenagers and adults from the use of cell phones. Every day however, thousands of Indiana moms and dads drive their children to play groups, tennis lessons recitals, ballet classes, playgrounds, and more. These trips are filled with noise, tantrums and seemingly nonstop whining. They also cause the parent who is driving to experience severe stress, possibly affecting his or her driving abilities.

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January 21, 2010

More Highway Highway Safety Laws Needed to Minimize Indiana Accidents

Stop%20Sign.jpgLast week, a safety group handed out its annual report card for highway safety. Indiana received a mediocre rating for the strength and effectiveness of its highway safety laws. Coming as it does during the first month of a brand new year, Indiana personal injury lawyers hope that the government takes seriously the issues brought up by the report card and its recommendations.

The report by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety called Road Map to State Highway Safety Laws, rated all states based on the kind of highway safety laws they have in place to minimize accidents, prevent fatalities and reduce injuries. Fifteen basic and essential highway safety laws relating to teen driving, drunk driving, adult occupant protection and other aspects of highway safety were taken as bench marks.

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January 19, 2010

Indianapolis Tow Truck Driver Injured

skid%20mark.jpgIndiana State Police responded to a call concerning a near fatal accident on the Indianapolis east side this past Tuesday morning. The accident occurred around 9:00 am when the driver of a van hit a tow-truck driver on westbound I-70.

Indianapolis Police report that the tow truck driver, Mark Daily was outside his vehicle, helping a broken-down car on the side of the highway. While he was working, a van ran over him. Police say that the driver of the car, 40-year old Ronald Stevens, failed to obey the law that requires a driver to move to another lane when service vehicles and emergency personnel are present. He was cited for unsafe lane movement and following too close.

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January 14, 2010

Indianapolis Patients Can Prevent Medication Errors

prescriptions.jpgAs Indiana medical malpractice lawyers, we are always looking for ways that patients can protect themselves from medication errors. We came across this simple checklist that a patient can use to take the right medication and the right dosage of medication.

The list outlines three “checkpoints” at which errors can be caught and rectified.

The first checkpoint is at the doctor’s office when you receive your prescription. Make sure that the doctor or nurse informs you of the:
• Drug name
• Strength
• Dosage
• Dosage procedure
• Why you need the medicine
• What the medication will do
• How quickly you will see results

Remember those drugs are going into your system, and ultimately will affect your health. You have every right as a patient to demand information, and your doctor has every duty to provide the information you need.

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January 8, 2010

Indiana Personal Injury Lawyers Look Forward to Texting While Driving Ban in 2010

cell%20phone.jpgThe New Year promises to usher in new state and federal laws of the kind that Indiana personal injury lawyers would really like to see. Our state continues to lag behind many in its approach to the safety issues arising from motorists texting and using cell phones while driving. We currently have a ban on all cell phone use by motorists below the age of 18. However, there is no law yet that bans texting while driving for all.

A new bill introduced by Senator Travis Holman (R-Markle) will ban texting and sending emails behind the wheel for all drivers. The bill was filed in the legislature last year, and a non budget session of the legislature which begins on January 5th, has the bill on its agenda. The momentum against cell phone use while driving is gaining momentum in Indiana, and the bill has received support from legislators, Indiana personal injury attorneys and the public.

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January 1, 2010

Increased Indiana Highway Construction Could Mean More Accidents in the New Year

barricade.jpgIndiana is in the midst of a massive 10-year highway construction development blitz, but given a poor nationwide record of enforcing work zone safety standards, personal injury lawyers here will be concerned about the increased risk of accidents and injuries from these development efforts.

In 2006, the Indiana Department of Transportation introduced Major Moves, a highway development plan that includes at least 200 new highway construction projects and 200 preservation projects across Indiana. The plan was initiated as part of efforts to boost development, facilitate easier transportation and generate jobs. All that has been great, but the plan has also meant dozens of highway projects active across the state, at any given time.

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December 24, 2009

Indiana Children at Risk of Strangulation from Defective Roll Up Blinds, Roman Shades

blinds.jpgThanks to relentless efforts by consumer safety groups and product liability attorneys in Indiana and around the country, there are stricter safety standards in place for children’s products. However, it is important for parents and caregivers to know that their children may also be at danger from other consumer products in the home. Last week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of up to 50 million rollup blinds and window shades, after a series of strangulation deaths involving little children.

The CPSC has confirmed eight reports of deaths in which children were strangulated by the blind and shade cords since 2001. It has also received reports of at least 16 incidents in which children wrapped the cord around themselves but were rescued in time. This recall is believed to be the second largest American product recall, and the latest in a series of recalls of window coverings. The last massive recall was nine years ago when 85 million blinds had to be recalled for similar hazards.

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December 17, 2009

New Medication Error Alert System Promises to Reduce Frequency of Errors

Intravenous.jpgApproximately 1.3 million people in the country, including thousands in Indiana, are injured every year from medication errors. Of these:

* 41 percent of deaths were linked to improper dosage
* 16 percent involved distribution of the wrong medicine
* another 16 percent was attributed to the wrong route of medication administration

Now, a new national alert program is aiming to minimize the frequency of such medication errors.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) have developed the National Alert Network for Serious Medication Errors. Actor Dennis Quaid recently announced the launch of the alert program. Quaid has some personal experience with the trauma that patients and families go through when they are injured by these preventable errors. In 2007, his twin boys were administered an excessive dose of the drug heparin. The event occurred at the Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.

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December 10, 2009

Indiana DOT Launches New Website to Prevent Accidents

Road%20Conditions.jpgAs Indiana personal injury lawyers, we are constantly monitoring efforts by our state to prevent automobile accidents, especially those that result in fatalities and catastrophic injuries. With winter here, the chances of accidents increase because of the challenges of driving in adverse weather conditions. That is why we are encouraged to see the Indiana Department of Transportation (DOT) using technology and the Internet to keep motorists in informed about road and traffic conditions that affects their safety.

The DOT has set up a new website at www.trafficwise.in.gov to keep motorists informed of road conditions. The website launched just before the Thanksgiving holiday, which kicks off a high-risk season for accidents in Indiana.

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December 3, 2009

Indiana Truck Accident Lawyers’ Wish List for New FMCSA Chief

semi%20mirror.jpgAs Indiana truck accident lawyers, we have our reservations about the confirmation of Anne Ferro as chief of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Ferro’s confirmation has been controversial, and truck accident attorneys, safety groups and accident survivor groups have their doubts about the good judgment in having a former trucking industry lobbyist leading the country’s premier commercial motor vehicle agency.

Ferro served six years as president of the Maryland Motor Truck Association.
It’s not just the lobbyist past that concerns Indiana truck accident attorneys. Ferro has also been a strong supporter of the 11-hour trucking rule that the Bush administration passed just before he vacated office. Trucking safety advocates and truck accident lawyers in Indiana and around the country have been strongly critical of the rule, which extended the number of consecutive hours a trucker can drive to 11, from the earlier 10.

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November 30, 2009

Indiana Physician’s License Suspension May be Extended

pills%202.jpgInformation released this week indicates that a request is before the Indiana Medical Licensing Board asking to consider extending a suspension for an Indiana physician.

The Indiana Medical Licensing Board met on October 27, 2009 and unanimously voted an emergency medical license suspension of an Indiana physician. Dr. Phillip D. Foley of Middletown, Indiana received a 90-day suspension after Indiana’s attorney general accused him of recklessly prescribing narcotics and sedatives. The state petition against Foley accuses him of at least nine overdose deaths.

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November 22, 2009

Indianapolis Woman Dies in Apartment Fire

smoke%20alarm.jpgIndianapolis officials are investigating an accidental fire that resulted in the death of 94-year-old, Willa Mae Fossett.

Firefighters responded to a report of smoke coming from a third floor window at the Indiana Avenue Senior Apartments this Sunday morning. When they arrived just after 4:30 a.m., they found a small fire in the bathroom. They quickly extinguished the fire. Unfortunately, they also discovered Ms. Fossett unconscious in the bedroom. She was later pronounced dead at the scene.

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