Indiana Injury Lawyer Blog

For a while now, the trucking industry has been pushing for a continuation of the current Hours of Service for truck drivers, which currently allows drivers to operate a rig for 11 consecutive hours. The reasoning is that these work hours have contributed to a decline in the number of people being killed in truck accident deaths every year. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has shot down that argument. According to the federal agency chief, estimates of trucking accident fatalities across the country show a possible increase in deaths in these accidents in 2010.

According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Chief Anne Ferro, the number of people killed in truck accidents in 2010 was close to 4,000. That was an increase from 3,360 fatalities in 2009. This information emerged at a hearing on the Hours of Service rule that is currently pending with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The federal agency should have finalized a new Hours of Service rule last month, but missed a deadline to do so.

However, the number of truck accidents declined in 2010. The trucking industry is likely to pounce on this fact as proof that safety has increased since the Hours of Service were increased to 11 hours, from the earlier 10.

Continue reading "Trucking Accident Deaths up in 2010" »

A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Highway Loss Data Institute reveals that occupants of hybrid vehicles may be much less likely to be injured in an accident than occupants of non-hybrid vehicles. However, hybrid cars are more likely to be involved in collisions with pedestrians.

According to the study, hybrid vehicles have up to 25% greater crash protection than non-conventional vehicles. That's mainly because these vehicles have approximately 10% more weight than conventional vehicles. Bigger, heavier cars have a greater likelihood of protecting occupants during an accident, than smaller vehicles.

It appears that automakers have finally found the magic combination of eco-friendliness and safety that they have been looking for. For several years, hybrid vehicles were considered less safe cars, because while they promised fuel efficiency and cleaner driving, they did not rank highly on crash protection.

Continue reading "Occupants of Hybrid Cars Safer in an Accident" »

With Christmas shopping season underway, parents and consumers around the country need to be vigilant about the kind of toys that they buy as gifts. A new report released just in time for the shopping season, warns consumers that while children's toys are a lot safer than they were a couple of years ago, there's still much to look out for.

The report, Trouble in Toyland has been compiled by the US Public Interest Research Group. It is the group's 26th annual report and is based on a survey of consumers. According to the report, the main toy-related concerns in 2011 are choking, strangulation hazards and the presence of toxic chemicals in toys.

These are problems that the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 attempted to deal with. For instance, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 set strict limits on the presence of lead in children's toys. There were also strict limitations on the presence of harmful chemicals known as phthalates in children's toys and products. However, the Trouble in Toyland report finds that these chemicals are present in excessive quantities in quite a few toys.

Continue reading "Toxic, Hazardous Toys Still a Risk " »

Compulsive, materialistic people, who view their car as an extension of themselves, are much more likely to drive aggressively. That intriguing insight into the psyche of aggressive motorists comes from a study into the values and attitudes that define these motorists.

The study is titled Aggressive Driving: A Consumption Experience, and was conducted by a professor at the Temple University Fox School of Business. The study outlines many reasons for Indiana personal injury lawyers to be concerned about aggressive drivers. Every year, aggressive driving is blamed for approximately one third of all auto accidents that result in injuries. Such driving is also to blame for two thirds of all accidents that result in deaths.

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The validity of the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act is being challenged, and the Indiana Court of Appeals’ latest ruling has bloggers and news agencies talking. The ruling reverses a lower court decision by Judge Lou Rosenberg of Marion Circuit Court. In Timothy W. Plank v. Community Hospitals of Indiana and State of Indiana, No. 49A04-1004-CT-254, the Indiana Court of Appeals determined that plaintiff Timothy Plank, whose wife died because of a missed medical diagnosis, is entitled to an evidentiary hearing as to the constitutionality of Indiana’s statutory cap on medical malpractice awards. Mr. Plank received an $8.5 million jury verdict in his initial trial.

Mr. Plank’s attorney is John Muller, Partner at Montross Miller Muller Mendelson & Kennedy.

As we reported earlier on this blog, Mr. Plank sued on behalf of his wife Debra. Ms. Plank experienced severe abdominal pain in November 2001 and presented to Community Hospital for care. Unfortunately, doctors failed to diagnosis a small bowel obstruction. As a result, Ms. Plank developed sepsis and subsequently died. Mr. Plank filed a complaint with the Indiana Department of Insurance against the hospital and three physicians. The doctors were dismissed before the trial began; the case went ahead against Community Hospital and in September of 2009 and the jury found in the favor of the plaintiff. The jury awarded $8.5 million in damages.

Continue reading "Indiana Medical Malpractice Damages Cap Challenged" »