Indiana Injury Lawyer Blog

The Georgia Supreme Court this week shot down a key provision of the state's 2005 tort reform laws capping noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits at $350,000. That comes just weeks after the Illinois Supreme Court declared that caps on medical malpractice damages violate separation of powers, by allowing lawmakers to interfere with judicial verdicts.

The Georgia Supreme Court decision involved an appeal by a hospital against a verdict awarding $1.15 million in non-economic damages to a patient. The patient had been severely scarred by a botched cosmetic surgery procedure performed at Atlanta Oculopasty Surgery. A jury awarded her $1.15 million in non-economic damages including pain and suffering, against a statutory cap of $350,000. The cap was part of sweeping tort reform laws passed in Georgia in 2005. The law’s proponents claimed these caps would reduce medical practice insurance premiums, and encourage more doctors to stay in the state.

Continue reading "Georgia SC Strikes Down Medical Malpractice Caps: Will Indiana Be Next? " »

As truck accident lawyers in Indiana, we have been very concerned at our state’s decision to close truck stops in an effort to deal with budgetary deficits. Last year, the Indiana Department of Transportation closed seven truck stops in the state. Other states around the country have followed suit, shutting down rest areas in an effort to meet budgetary shortfalls, and in the process, placing truckers and motorists at risk from fatigue-related accidents, violence, robberies and other adverse incidents.

A new piece of federal legislation called Jason’s Law could change all that. The bill, if passed, will provide for financing of new truck stops across the country, enhancing existing parking areas for 18-wheelers, and improving access to truck stops and parking facilities on our highways.

Continue reading "Jason’s Law Will Help Pay for Parking Facilities for Indiana Truckers" »

Warm weather is finally arriving in Indiana. With the increase in temperature, Indiana streets are experiencing an increase in bicycle traffic. A stroll through any Indianapolis neighborhood will reveal both children and adults enjoying the freedom of a bike ride. As Indianapolis personal injury attorneys, we want to encourage everyone to enjoy the ride while being as safe as possible.

Since the invention of the “Walking Machine” in 1817 by Baron von Drais, people have enjoyed riding bikes. But throughout the history of this wonderful machine, safety has been of utmost concern. Builders have spent decades making improvements to the bicycle. They have engineered it to be stronger, go faster, and ride smoother; however, even the finest crafted bikes cannot keep you from a spill. As anyone who has tumbled from the two-wheel contraptions knows, falling from a bicycle, even at a slow speed, will do terrible things to your head and brain.

Continue reading "Helmets Protect Indiana Bike Riders (Part I of III)" »

Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood deserved to be proud this week, when he announced that according to preliminary data, highway fatalities across the country had dropped to their lowest levels in 54 years. Fatality numbers for 2009 were 9% lower than they were in 2008. The DOT estimates that there were 33,960 accident fatalities in 2009. Compare that to just four years ago in 2005, when there were 37,261 fatalities.

Obviously that's good news, although 33,000+ deaths in 365 days are still far too many to stomach for Indiana injury lawyers.

Continue reading "Highway Accident Fatalities Lowest in More Than Five Decades" »

Trucking companies in and around Indiana will now be able to access updated accident and inspection records of potential drivers, on a website that has just been launched by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The website was promised by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood last year. Calls for a website like this that allows for easy 24-hour access to a job applicant’s inspection and accident records, have been growing for a while now. Such data would allow employers to screen a job applicant's accident records dating back five years, and inspection records dating back three years. This data could help tremendously in making a hiring decision. Until now, such data had been available only to federal and state enforcement agencies. Now, employers in Indiana will have access to the very same data that the FMCSA has had access to all these years.

Continue reading "Indiana Trucking Employers Gain Access to Driver Accident Records" »

In all the attention that the Toyota acceleration crisis has received, one fact has become clear – the role of trial lawyers in protecting consumers when companies fail to respond to safety concerns, and federal agencies entrusted with protecting the consumer, dither in their duty to keep defective products off the market.

In Toyota’s case, reports of unintended acceleration in its vehicles began surfacing as far back as 2002, when the company first introduced its bestselling electronic throttle control systems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration however, failed to find the issue serious enough to warrant a recall. It took the deaths of four people in a San Diego accident involving a Lexus for the NHTSA and Toyota to admit that there was a problem.

Continue reading "Toyota Crisis Just One Example of Why Indiana Needs Trial Lawyers " »