Category: Vehicle Accidents
March 11, 2019 / Vehicle Accidents
An Alarming Increase in Indianapolis Hit-and-Run Car Accidents
Being struck by a vehicle while walking on the side of, or crossing, a street is traumatic enough, but what do you do if the driver doesn’t stop? That’s an increasing problem in Indianapolis, reports Fox 29 News. Even if the driver escapes the scene after hitting you, you still may be able to obtain compensation for your injuries. In the first nine months of 2018, a dozen people were killed in Indianapolis in hit-and-run accidents, according to the report; and there are thousands of such accidents happening in the city. Three years ago, 5,049 hit-and-runs were reported to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD). They caused 543 injuries. In 2017, the number of reported hit-and-runs increased to 5,539, with injuries goi[...]
January 10, 2019 / Vehicle Accidents
How Much Can I Get for a Car Accident Settlement?
If you’ve been seriously injured in an Indiana vehicle accident, you may be affected in any number of ways. You may be temporarily or permanently disabled. You may have suffered serious scarring and/or chronic pain and you may have lost a lot of time at work, perhaps so much that you lost your job. You may be entitled to compensation for the harm you’ve suffered, but how much? There are many factors that determine what a settlement may be worth, but they mostly boil down to the facts, the law and the strength of the evidence supporting your claims. In most vehicle collision cases, the plaintiff (the party filing the suit) sues the defendant (the party accused of causing the accident, whose insurance company normally pays for a leg[...]
October 1, 2018 / Vehicle Accidents
Can Cell Phones PREVENT Distracted Driving?
You probably had to read the title twice, right? While cell phones are often the primary cause of distracted driving, the increased attention and concern with regard to this problem is leading to some creative ways to address the role of mobile phones and distracted drivers. Technology companies, truck fleets, and Indiana police officers all have innovative ways to prevent distraction and help identify distracted drivers. Distraction affects a driver’s visual, manual, and cognitive abilities—often all three simultaneously. But help is here. The Right App Technology and automotive companies have been putting their minds together to help prevent distracted driving by creating apps for your smartphone. The proper smartphone app can actual[...]
June 18, 2018 / Vehicle Accidents
What Are the Real Reasons for Motor Vehicle Crashes?
Sometimes, establishing the reasons for a car crash is complicated. One factor that can make determinations even more imprecise is that state crash report forms used at the scene often lack the appropriate fields or places to enter codes that would explain the precise reason for the collision. Because each state uses its own form, no consistency exists. Compiling accurate national statistics becomes difficult, producing results that are just plain wrong. The problem is known as incomplete crash data, and it’s hindering efforts to save lives. How Do Accurate Crash Explanations Help Save Lives? With 40,000 people dying on our roads each year, and another 4.6 million suffering serious injuries, any reasonable action we can take to save live[...]
May 21, 2018 / Vehicle Accidents
Don’t Become a Statistic This Memorial Day Weekend
Most of us consider Memorial Day weekend to be the start of summer -- the perfect time to visit family or enjoy the outdoors. About 35 million of us took to the road in 2017, driving more than 50 miles over the holiday weekend, and 2018 may be shaping up to surpass that figure. Don’t set out on your trip until you learn why Memorial Day weekend is the most dangerous one to be on the road. The Riskiest Holiday Weekend All Year Did you know that you are four times likelier to die in a Memorial Day weekend crash than during a regular weekend? Memorial Day weekend is the deadliest of the holiday weekends for road travel. The period from 2011 to 2015 averaged 312 fatalities in each of those years. The other two big summer holiday weekends—La[...]
May 14, 2018 / Vehicle Accidents
Pre-Existing Conditions and Motor Vehicle Accidents
If you have a pre-existing medical condition and have sustained injuries in a motor vehicle crash where the other party was negligent, you may be concerned that you cannot win your case. While it can be more difficult to win, having a pre-existing condition does not negate the fact that the other person caused the accident and that you are suffering in ways that you weren’t before the accident. The insurance company for the at-fault party in a car crash will always try to pay you as little as they think they can. That’s the way insurance companies make a profit; never forget they are in business to make money. However, if the accident aggravated your pre-existing condition, you may be able to win your case under something often called [...]
May 4, 2018 / Vehicle Accidents
Man Vs. Machine: How Pedestrian Collisions Should Worry All of Us
Common sense tells us that when a car and a pedestrian collide, the pedestrian will never emerge victorious. We’re all aware of the dangers vehicles present to those on foot, and we’d like to believe that we’re always on the lookout for one another, whether we’re walking or behind the wheel. Yet, there is a recent and unsettling trend happening on our roads - not just across the U.S., but also here in Indiana. When the Governors Highway Safety Association looked at the most recent pedestrian fatality data, the statistics were disturbing. It was early 2017 when researchers looked at the numbers from the first half of the previous year and found that there was a 17 percent jump in the number of pedestrians killed on U.S. roads. Unfo[...]
March 26, 2018 / Vehicle Accidents
What Is the State of Our Roads in Indianapolis?
Streets and roads in Indianapolis are scandalously deteriorated, and it’s our own fault. Years of negligence from cutting public works budgets and putting off needed repairs mean that the chickens have now come home to roost—and we will all pay the price for our neglect, not only in dollars, but also in lives. Nationwide, roughly one-third of our nation’s traffic deaths are linked to poor road conditions. In a Word: “Staggering” An internal analysis done by the city asserts that the amount of money and work required to fix more than 8,000 miles of Indianapolis’s streets and roads is “staggering.” The city’s Department of Public Works was forced to conclude that “[t]his deferred maintenance and lack of improvement have re[...]
November 6, 2017 / Vehicle Accidents
Internal Injuries Suffered in Vehicle Accidents
Some of the deadliest car accident injuries are also the toughest to identify. Internal injuries put patients at immediate risk, but may not be evident until hours, even days, after the individual should have received medical attention. Princess Diana is the perfect example; the tragic car accident that ended her life caused severe internal injuries. Unsure as to whether your recent car accident resulted in internal injuries? Keep reading to learn more about common injuries, their symptoms, and treatment options. Pneumothorax Better known as a collapsed lung, pneumothorax occurs when air accumulates in the space between the chest wall and lung, pushing on the outside of the lung and eventually causing it to collapse. Although occasiona[...]
August 7, 2017 / Vehicle Accidents
Headlights: Essential but Neglected?
Can there be another part of your car that you think about less than your headlights? Let’s face it, headlights aren’t sexy. But they are essential to keeping us alive when we drive in the dark and during storms. Headlights have been basic equipment on passenger vehicles for over 100 years. They started out as fuel-powered, but quickly moved to electricity. Despite technological advances, a significant chunk of headlights are rated poorly. Such a finding should breed caution the next time you are driving after dark. The Components of a Modern Headlight Today, headlights, like a lot of other items on our vehicles, are high-tech. The old bulbs some of us remember are gone. Currently, headlights generally have one of the following light s[...]