Indiana Injury Lawyer Blog

Body scanners are now in place in more than 50 airports across the US and over the next few months, will be in place in more airports nationwide. There has been much controversy over these scanners, ranging from privacy concerns to the convenience factor. However, there is one issue that Indiana personal injury lawyers believe has not been addressed enough, and that's the health impact of the scanners.

The biggest health concerns about the scanners relate to the amount of radiation that they emit. The problem is that there is very little solid information about the volumes of radiation we are talking about here. That's because it seems to be only the manufacturers who know how much radiation the scanners are programmed to emit during a typical body scan, and the companies inform us that the amount is very low. That doesn't really help assure us.

Continue reading "Are There Radiation Risks from Airport Scanners?" »

In 2005, the economic cost of accidents, including medical expenses and lost income from days off from work, totaled a staggering $99 billion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which came upon that estimate, however believes that the $99 billion tag could actually be much lower than the actual amount. For instance, that estimate doesn't include increased expenses in the form of higher insurance premiums that a motorist may have to pay after an accident. When you factor in these costs, the actual economic cost of accidents in 2005 could cross $200 billion.

It's data from 2005, but in spite of the five year gap, there's no reason for Indiana personal injury lawyers to believe that accident costs for 2009 or 2010, would be significantly lower. If you take the analysis methods adopted by the CDC, you are likely to find billions of dollars of economic losses caused by traffic accidents every year.

Continue reading "Annual Cost of Auto Accidents Equals $500 for Every US Motorist" »

Indiana patients now have a tool that can help them make informed decisions concerning their health care. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has added new search data to their Hospital Compare web site. Using updated information and a slick new look, patients can access health care information concerning their local doctors and hospitals.

Indiana medical malpractice and personal injury attorneys are encouraged by this updated information and believe it will make a positive impact in the quality of health care available to Indiana consumers. Medicine is a competitive business. Hospitals and surgical centers are fighting for every health care dollar. We believe the ability to compare outcomes, various procedures, and nursing quality will influence area hospitals to invest additional resource in an effort to improvement Indiana’s health care.

Continue reading "Indianapolis Hospital Quality on Display" »

The Coast Guard's boating safety report for 2009 indicates an increase in deaths and injuries, although the overall number of boating accidents actually declined last year. Overall, there was a 3.81% increase in boating accident fatalities and a .81% increase in boating accident injuries last year. However, the number of boating accidents dropped by 1.23%.

In all, there were 4,730 recreational boating accidents in 2009, and these resulted in 736 deaths and 3,358 injuries. As for the causes of boating accidents, it should come as no surprise to any Indiana boating accident lawyer, that the primary factors continue to be operator attention and inexperience, excessive speeds, boating under the influence and insufficient lookout. The one common thing about these five factors is that all of them are related in some way to human error or inadequacy. Mechanical malfunction plays a very small role in the majority of boating accidents every year.

Continue reading "Coast Guard Report Shows Spike in Boating Accident Fatalities in 2009" »

Last year, Indianapolis residents had a close view of the massive destruction that can occur when a tanker truck is involved in a rollover accident. In October 2009, a propane truck flipped over on Interstate 465, and burst into flames. The resulting blaze could be seen for miles around, and even motorists a mile away from the explosion could feel the heat. That accident could likely have been averted if the tanker truck had come equipped with a stability control system of the kind found in millions of passenger vehicles around the country. Unfortunately, federal agencies have failed to make these systems mandatory on all commercial trucks.

This week, representatives of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told a hearing of the National Transportation Safety Board that the federal administration was looking into the benefits of having electronic stability control systems made mandatory on all commercial trucks. The hearing was linked to the Indianapolis crash, and the National Transportation Safety Board was specifically looking into safety systems to prevent tanker truck rollovers, like the one that occurred last year. According to the researchers who presented the findings at the hearing, electronic stability control systems on all 18-wheelers would prevent 3,600 rollover truck accidents every year, save 106 lives and prevent 4,400 injuries every year.

Continue reading "Stability Control Systems Could Prevent 3,600 Truck Rollover Accidents Annually" »