Recent Blog Posts
August 3, 2016 / Vehicle Accidents
Amish Buggy Accidents and Distracted Driving
Recently in Indiana, a rash of accidents between motor vehicles and horse-drawn buggies illustrate the dangers of distracted driving. In Elkhart County, two crashes—one on May 29, 2016, and one on June 2—have highlighted this serious problem. In the May 29 accident, a teenaged girl rear-ended a buggy that was carrying a 6-week-old baby, along with the child’s Amish parents, on Indiana State Road 13. The 17-year-old driver said, because she was distracted, she did not notice the buggy until she was unable to avoid the accident. In the June 2 accident, a buggy containing an Amish woman with her 4-year-old child was rear-ended by a distracted driver. Even though no life-threatening injuries occurred in either recent accident in Elk[...]
August 3, 2016 / Vehicle Accidents
A New Weapon to Fight DWT (Driving While Texting)
The problem of texting while driving continues to grow. It is a known cause of distracted driving, which is responsible for a large number of crashes on our roads. Some studies put the number of wrecks as high as almost 70 percent of all accidents. But we don’t have accurate statistics regarding distracted driving, partly because it is easy for a driver in an accident to lie about whether or not they were texting or otherwise on their phone. Practically all states ban texting while driving, with no exceptions; and many states ban all cell phone usage for at least some drivers, often school bus drivers and those under 18. The laws are in place, but drivers are not willing to admit that they were driving distracted in an accident. New Yor[...]
June 15, 2016 / Worker Injury
2015’s Top Ten OSHA Violations
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is 35 years old in 2016, and its mission is to ensure that every worker goes home healthy and whole every single day. Because most injuries and deaths in the workplace are preventable, OSHA was formed in order to reduce their number. Not all businesses see the benefit of an injury-free workplace, however, as evidenced from OSHA’s yearly top 10 list of workplace violations. In 2015, the ten largest fines amounted to over $10 million, and the fines were concentrated in the construction, industrial, and factory settings. For 2015, the top 10 standards cited most often by OSHA as violated were: Fall protection. The standard details the circumstances und[...]
May 18, 2016 / Product Injury
Keyless Equals Dangerous
Do you have a keyless ignition system in your car? It’s likely you do if you drive a newer, higher-end model car. Carmakers from Hyundai to Mercedes-Benz now offer the system in their cars; they are standard issue in 245 automotive models. For those who’ve never experienced keyless ignition, it is also known by some as “push-button-start.” Inside the car is a button you push to start the car—no more ignition key—but the button will not start the car unless you have the proper “smart access” key fob. Here’s how it works: The key fob sends a coded signal at intervals. If the coded signal registers with a computer in your car once it comes within a certain distance range, the computer activates several automotive systems, [...]
May 4, 2016 / Vehicle Accidents
Save a Life—Be Aware—Motorcycles Are Everywhere
With the return of May’s nice weather, if you’re a motorcyclist, you know it’s time to hit the road and enjoy a long, relaxing ride. It’s probably because of the lovely weather common to the month of May that it was selected for Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. This designation, officially proclaimed by Governor Pence and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for 2016, is held both to remind riders to travel safely and responsibly and to raise awareness among those in cars and trucks so they will look out for motorcyclists. Sharing the Road Can Be Hard It can be tough to be a motorcyclist because, in reality, the other driver is often the cause of the accident. It can be downright impossible to avoid a wreck[...]
April 14, 2016 / Product Injury
E-cigarettes: The Danger Continues
A few months ago we brought the problems of e-cigarettes, or vaping, to your attention. With further local developments, we thought we would revisit the situation, as many folks now use e-cigarettes. While there’s no hard number for how many people are vaping in Indiana, across the U.S. as many as 3.5 million individuals supposedly are using electronic cigarettes instead of the real thing. A large number of these vapers are former cigarette smokers who are trying to cut their risk of lung cancer and other illnesses. Explosions and Injuries Across the U.S. There have been a number of stories involving e-cigarettes and explosions which have resulted in injuries: February, 2016: an Owensboro, KY, resident experienced acute burns on his[...]
March 3, 2016 / Truck Accidents
The Risks of Deadheading and Bobtailing
Deadheading? No, we’re not talking about your flower garden, nor are we referring to a Grateful Dead concert. And bobtailing has nothing to do with animals. Both deadheading (also known as bouncing) and bobtailing are trucking industry terms. Deadheading means driving, usually a return trip, with an empty trailer, and bobtailing means driving the tractor portion only, with no trailer attached. The ability to stop is vastly different whether you are driving a loaded trailer, an empty trailer, or a tractor alone. Believe it or not, it is easier to stop a loaded trailer more securely. Both an empty trailer and a tractor alone are less balanced than a well-loaded truck. Deadheading Dangers One study, done in Western Australia, found that[...]
February 9, 2016 / Medical Malpractice
Risky Remedies: Overdosing on Cold and Flu Medications
Cold and flu medications are staples in most of our homes, especially during winter. A lot of us consider all over-the-counter (OTC) medications to be perfectly safe. After all, you can buy them without a prescription, so they must be harmless, right? Generally, OTC medications are innocuous as long as they are taken as directed. But some folks ingest one medication, feel it isn’t doing them much good, and then take another, different one. Some people routinely combine OTC medications. But doing so can be quite dangerous. Read the Labels One of the biggest hazards comes from overdosing on the painkiller acetaminophen, also known by the brand name Tylenol®. Most cold and flu formulas include acetaminophen as one of their active ingre[...]
January 15, 2016 / Truck Accidents
Drivin’ My Life Away…
We have a truck driver shortage in the U.S., despite the fact that it is the most common job in nearly 30 states. In the U.S., truck drivers number 3.5 million, with about 1.8 million of them working specifically as long-haul or tractor-trailer drivers, according to 2014 figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Despite that number, according to the American Trucking Association, the industry lacks at least 48,000 drivers. Some peg the number of drivers currently needed at 100,000. And the need is growing. Why the Demand for So Many Drivers? One big reason is that trucking cannot be outsourced, and driving trucks can’t be automated—at least, not quite yet. Goods need to be moved from points A to B, and that takes human beings sitti[...]
December 16, 2015 / Personal Injury
Dieselgate: Another Name for Plain Old Fraud
It’s being called “Dieselgate”—the outrageous cheating that Volkswagen engaged in when it came to using its specially-modified emissions software to fake the test results for its TDI “clean diesel” engines. Lawsuits are emerging that involve a number of charges, most of which argue the point that Volkswagen duped buyers with its erroneous claims of engine performance. Without a doubt, owners want—and deserve—compensation for the premium prices they paid to own a TDI vehicle, and for the now sharply-reduced resale value of those same vehicles. Owners who bought cars they believed were better for the environment feel swindled, and not just monetarily. As of the last count, there are 11 million of you worldwide. About a half[...]