The speed limit for the stretch of interstate where construction is set to begin has already been lowered to 55 miles per hour and additional speed reductions will go into place once construction begins. Patrols will be enhanced in this area with state and local law enforcement officers concerned with the safety of those at the worksite, as well as the motorists on I-65.

Super Lawyer candidates are evaluated based on a number of things, including verdicts, settlements and experience. The Super Lawyers list is limited to only 5% of the attorneys within their jurisdiction. Parr Richey has been represented on the Indiana Super Lawyers list by at least one of its attorneys every year since its inception.

This ban comes in the wake of a recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which found texting truckers to be 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash or near crash. Distracted driving has become a concern of Congress, and many view this ban as a first step in passing more laws and bans to eliminate or reduce cellphone use among drivers.

The Attorney then filed a Request for Attorney Fees and Personal Representative Fees with the probate court handling Large’s Estate requesting her attorney’s fees to be paid out of the entire settlement amount that was recovered (amount paid to Hillenbrand plus amount paid to Large’s Estate). Hillenbrand objected and a hearing was held. The probate court held $6,545.50 in attorney’s fees was to be deducted from the wrongful death claim settlement. Hillenbrand appealed the decision, arguing that all settlement amounts remaining after the payment of reasonable medical, hospital, funeral, and burial expenses shall go to the exclusive benefit of Hillenbrand as the nondependent child of Large. The Estate argued that since it is the personal representative of the Estate that is entitled to pursue the wrongful death claim, the Attorney must be paid from the settlement amount from the wrongful death claim. Consequently the singular issue on appeal was “whether the Estate [could] charge the attorney fees incurred in the pursuit of the wrongful death claim against the settlement funds instead of being paid from the probate estate.”

On appeal, the Indiana Court of Appeals first looked at the Journey Account Statute. IC § 34-11-8-1. In summary, the Journey Account Statute is used to “save an action filed in the wrong court by allowing the plaintiff enough time to refile the same claim in the correct forum.” For example, “the statute enables an action dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction in one state to be refilled in another state despite the intervening running of the statute of limitations.”

Tony guided his L & M High School basketball team to a #1 ranking in Indiana his senior year. The team captured national attention that year, as it was one of the smallest schools (enrollment 132) to ever be ranked #1 under Indiana's old single-class system. Following his senior season, Tony was named to the Converse All-American team, selected to play on the Indiana All-Star team, and was a first team All-State pick in Indiana.

Based on the article, it appears the cellphone company involved is Sprint Nextel. The daughter is arguing in her claim that Sprint Nextel should have foreseen the danger causing her mother's death and provided adequate warnings to prevent the harm. The article reports this to be one of only a handful of such cases ever filed.

Indiana courts have ruled on a similar case. In Williams v. Cingular Wireless, a driver was injured in a two-car motor vehicle accident. 809 N.E.2d 473 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004), transfer denied. At the time of the collision, the other driver involved was talking on her cellphone serviced by Cingular Wireless.

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Allstate Insurance only offered $10,000 before trial to settle the matter, despite healthcare expenses and lost wages in excess of $14,000. Allstate admitted fault one week before trial and elected not to have the defendant driver appear at trial.

Of note in the trial was that plaintiff's healthcare was provided by a physician assistant (PA). Physician assistants are often utilized in busy medical practices and are allowed to examine, treat and prescribe healthcare, including prescription medication, under the supervision of a medical doctor. PAs have postgraduate schooling in medicine, although they do not participate in clinical training and do not receive a doctorate degree. We used the PA to testify in court regarding our client's condition and prognosis for the future and chose not to have a medical doctor testify. After the trial, jurors said they had no concern about the credibility of the PA, and several acknowledged that they had seen PAs for their own healthcare.

Jury trials for damages for personal injuries are difficult, especially in a political climate in which insurance companies try to poison public perception about lawsuits and claims. But we are lucky to have a constituion that provides for a trial by our peers in resolving civil disputes.

Insurance company adjusters and representatives handling disability claims, worker's compensation claims and personal injury claims have started to use social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace as a resource to collect evidence of malingering injuries. However, some pictures may create the appearance that an injury victim is in better health than they actually are, or the picture was taken before their injury occurred. For the reason that some pictures displayed on social networking sites may inaccurately portray an injury victim's health and condition, it is important injury victims closely monitor the content accessible to others in their personal profile.

Indiana is one of the top states in the U.S. for the number of deer/motor vehicle collisions annually. Deer collisions can cause significant property damage and serious personal injury. Indiana drivers are cautioned to stay alert and be on the lookout for deer crossing Indiana roadways.

Be sure you are sufficiently covered through your insurance policy in the event of a deer collision. Collision coverage in your insurance policy generally does not cover deer collisions. Look to see if any provision within your automobile insurance policy covers deer collisions and determine if you are adequately covered.

Your recent editorial on September 17, 2009, authored by Chip Minemyer, titled “Without Tort Reform, There Should Be No Health Overhaul,” was misleading and inaccurate. It was simply an attempt to influence public opinion in favor of big corporations and insurance companies and harpoon injury victims’ claims.

Minemyer starts his column with the statement that litigation reform is an issue “central to improving the cost of healthcare and access to treatment.” In fact, the cost of medical malpractice is actually a tiny percentage of healthcare costs, in part because medical malpractice claims are far less frequent than insurance companies would lead people to believe. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), malpractice costs amount to less than two percent of overall healthcare spending.

President Obama proposed to implement measures to limit the legal rights of severely injured persons as part of the healthcare discussion, apparently as a bargaining chip to reduce Republican opposition to his healthcare reform plan. His medical malpractice reform proposal will hurt patients and dump more cost on taxpayers. It would not eliminate death and injuries but merely shift costs of caring for malpractice victims from perpetrators of malpractice to hard pressed state Medicaid systems, for which state and federal taxpayers share the cost. In fact, according to the insurance industry’s own data, medical malpractice insurance claims and premiums have been trending downward for years.