Recent Blog Posts
June 27, 2014 / Vehicle Accidents
Stop, Go Straight On Red?
If you’re riding a bicycle, moped or motorcycle, that’s exactly what you’ll be able to do come July 1. A new law will take effect in Indiana that will allow two- and three-wheeled vehicles to go through a red light if they have waited for two minutes and the light has not turned green. They must first ensure that there is no traffic coming. Indiana became the 16th state to pass what they call a “dead red” law in response to the difficulty these light-weight vehicles have at stop signals because they often do not trip the detector which cues the traffic light to change. The riders have to wait for a more massive vehicle to approach the intersection and switch the light to green. The laws in the other dead red states -- Arkansas,[...]
June 16, 2014 / Vehicle Accidents
Should Your Tires Be Retired?
Your car or truck wouldn’t be of much use to you if it didn’t have tires, would it? And yet we often don’t give tires much thought, so long as they don’t go flat. Even then, we’ve got that trusty spare that has been riding around in the trunk for years and doesn’t have any mileage on it at all. So, no problem, right? Wrong. See Also: Tire Troubles & Accident Litigation For the most part, drivers measure the road-worthiness of their tires by the amount of tread left on them. And that is one credible factor to consider. With the normal amount of driving, the tires’ tread wears out before the rubber itself deteriorates. But tires can deteriorate with age, just like people, even if they haven’t seen hard use and still hav[...]
April 18, 2014 / Vehicle Accidents
GM Ignored Red Flags
In February, GM recalled about 780,000 of its 2005-07 Chevrolet Cobalt vehicles. That was just a portion of the larger recall of more than 2.6 million vehicles that may have faulty ignition switches, allowing the ignition to easily be moved out of the “run” position and into the “auxiliary” position and causing loss of power, steering, braking, airbags and lighting. GM says it has linked 32 crashes and 13 deaths to the faulty ignition switches, but a new study commissioned by the Center for Auto Safety indicates the death toll could exceed 300. Some folks from Indiana have been in recent news about the ignition switch problem. One of the many lawsuits that have been lodged against GM by those who were injured in accidents alle[...]
April 1, 2014 / Personal Injury
Beware What Lies Beneath
As with many things, when it comes to utility lines, there’s more than meets the eye. Many pipelines and conduits run beneath buildings and streets, and even your own back yard. Overall, roughly 18% of distribution line mileage is underground, according to the Edison Electric Institute. Burying utility lines certainly makes for a more pleasing view, but it also can make for hidden dangers when homeowners or construction workers accidentally cut into a buried line. That’s why April has been designated National Safe Digging Month. I know, I know – It seems like every day is National Something-or-other Day. But creating awareness of the dangers of digging is a way to prevent injuries and deaths, and statistics show that it has be[...]
March 10, 2014 / Worker Injury
Incompetence Rampant At Indiana OSHA
What would you do if your child brought an evaluation home from school that said he or she dawdled, made sloppy mistakes, was unprepared, broke the rules, failed to meet deadlines, and was generally “less than cooperative”? You’d sit that child down and communicate some expectations and consequences, right? That’s just what happened recently when the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigated the Indiana OSHA. The federal agency launched an investigation in April 2013 in response to allegations that the Indiana agency was dilatory about processing complaints and that they were unconcerned, at the least, about the rights of whistleblowers. On February 25, 2014, OSHA sent a 19-page letter to the Commi[...]
February 18, 2014 / Personal Injury
Low T vs. High Risk
I saw a new word recently: “manvertisement.” It refers to advertising spots on television and in print media for products which appeal to men, especially those who want to “be the man they used to be.” Manufacturers of everything from potions that promise to stop hair loss to gels that purport to boost testosterone level are banking – literally – on men’s fear of aging. Some of the products may be effective, but some expose men to serious health risks. Low-T treatments are in the latter category. Several studies have found testosterone therapy could be dangerous for some men. One, published in November 2013 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found a link between testosterone therapy and an increased rate of h[...]