Investigations into Indiana School Bus Accident Continue
Even as parents of children who were injured in a school bus accident in Indiana last month consider legal action, authorities are waiting for the autopsy results of the truck driver. The results will provide major clues into the cause of the accident that killed the truck driver, as well as a 5-year-old child passenger on the bus.
This has been one of the deadliest school accidents in Indiana in recent years. It also comes as a series of accidents have been reported from Pennsylvania, Missouri and Washington. Several students were critically or severely injured in those crashes too.
In the Indiana accident, the bus which was making its morning rounds, crashed into a support pillar on the Southeast side of Indianapolis. A 5-year-old girl and the truck driver were killed in the accident. Many students on the bus suffered serious injuries that included head and neck injuries and fractures. The children also complained of trauma after the accident.
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In a letter earlier this year to local farmers and grain storage facility operators, 
Your forward-facing car seat may not necessarily protect your two-year-old from serious injuries in an accident. For years now, industry recommendations have held that children above the age of one must be placed in a forward-facing car seat, instead of a rear-facing one. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics is now 
Indiana regulators fined Notre Dame $77,500 for six safety violations related to the October death of a 20-year-old student. The studend was killed when the school's hydraulic scissor lift fell in high winds while he was filming football practice.
There is good news for Indiana drivers! According to the Indiana University Public Policy Institute, Indiana’s fatal traffic accident rate dropped last year, reducing the number of people killed on Indiana highways by more than 12%.
The recently concluded Distracted Driving Summit in Washington DC has turned up a few key points of special interest to states like Indiana, that still don't have anti-distracted driving policies in place. The points to take home from the summit were:
A recent pipeline explosion in faraway California is focusing attention on the safety of Indiana’s very own gas transmission pipelines. Federal agencies believe Indiana's safety record where gas pipelines are concerned is good, but all it takes is a single corroded and disintegrating pipe or excavation on the wrong site, for disaster to strike. Unfortunately, it seems that 
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 
The Coast Guard's 
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.
If efforts to develop a test that will determine the presence of brain injury through biomarkers are successful, we could soon have a simple blood test that doctors at any kind of facility could use to determine the presence of a brain injury. 
Independence Day Celebrations are about to begin in the Indianapolis area. You have probably already heard the pop and sizzle of the beginning celebrations. The 4th of July provides flashes of brilliant lights, booming explosions, and patriotic concerts. It is a grand event. However, Indiana residents must be on the alert for the 
Indiana summer brings warm weather, family gatherings, fun on the beach and open water. Indiana boasts more than 550 square miles of waterways and some of the most beautiful and enjoyable lakes and rivers. Boating, skiing, canoeing, kayaking, fishing and swimming are recreational pastimes enjoyed by many Indiana residents. 
At the beginning of the decade, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted a review that indicated an explosion of the senior motorist population in the country in the coming years. This, the IIHS believed, would increase the risk of accidents involving these drivers and other motorists. Nine years later, the IIHS has revisited the issue, and conducted a study into senior motorist safety. 
Utility crews, emergency responders, police, fire personnel, and construction workers risk their lives every day in an effort to assist the residents of Indiana. With each road construction site, traffic stop and roadside response, these men and women place their own 
It is a well-known fact that children are just as much at risk from choking on pieces of food, as on toys. Earlier this year, a study confirmed that 60% of children below the age of four, who had to be rushed to hospital emergency rooms after a choking incident, had choked on food, and not toys. 
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 
Two trucking safety questions are on the horizon for the trucking industry, safety groups and 
It is the right time to embrace the cause of bicycle safety in Indiana. There are more Hoosiers biking to work and for leisure than ever before. In fact, according to Bicycle Indiana, since 2007 alone, there has been an increase of 40% in the numbers of people biking to work in Indiana. 
Bicycle riders in Indiana share the road with many passenger cars, delivery vans, and large trucks. This traffic increases the risk of 
Just in time for 
Indiana bicycle riders have enjoyed many sunny days of wonderful two-wheeled riding this spring. But for every hour spent on the bike, the rider runs an 
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is looking at the problem of driver fatigue very seriously. In the latest move designed to reduce the number of tired, drowsy and simply fatigued truckers plying our highways, the agency has passed a rule that 
As 
Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood deserved to be proud this week, when he announced that according to preliminary data, 
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. 
Indianapolis resident, Alice Helterbrand woke to a shock early Sunday morning when her furnace exploded, causing the total destruction of her home and the loss of several exotic birds. The explosion was so destructive that Ms. Helterbrand had to be rescued by neighbors through a hole in her wall. The home was determined to be a total loss, estimated at a value of $140,000. A neighboring home suffered about $20,000 in damage due to the flames and heat.
Indiana residents were again reminded of the devastation caused by 
Last week, a safety group handed out 
Indiana 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.
The 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. 
Indiana 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, 
Thanks 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 
As Indiana personal injury lawyers, we are constantly monitoring efforts by our state to prevent automobile accidents, especially those that result in fatalities and 
As Indiana truck accident lawyers, we have our reservations about the confirmation of Anne Ferro as chief of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). 
Indianapolis officials are investigating an accidental fire that resulted in the death of 94-year-old, Willa Mae Fossett. 
Four Indiana companies face fines and citations related to the 
The National FFA Convention has returned to Indianapolis, much to the city leaders’ approval. But difficult questions are being raised concerning the critically injured young man who fell at Circle Center Mall. Unfortunately, the tragic event last Thursday has turned the spotlight away from the program’s purpose.
Interstate I-65 in downtown Indianapolis was another scene of a horrific accident involving three semi-trucks and two cars. While details are still coming in, it appears that one of the tractor-trailers slammed into the rear of the first passenger car, pushing the vehicle into another semi, causing a chain reaction.
Indianapolis residents hoping to lose weight may be in danger because of common diet supplements sold in health food and vitamin stores. The Food and Drug Administration reports that weight-loss capsules called StarCaps could be hazardous to the health of many in Indiana and around the country. Made primarily of papaya, the capsules also contained a potent pharmaceutical drug called 
