When you are injured in the course and scope of your employment in the State of Indiana, your employer or their insurance carrier typically has the right to direct your medical treatment.
In most cases, the employer is required to provide a physician, free of charge, for the treatment of injuries an employee sustains. This employer/insurance carrier control, however, can create conflict when large employers and/or their insurance carriers use the same providers repeatedly.
State Road 28 in Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana, was closed after a semi-truck hauling pigs knocked out power when it left the highway and struck several power poles. Power was knocked out for more than eight hours Friday night when the semi tractor-trailer being driven by Brian Cagle, 22, Lebanon, Ohio, lost control of the vehicle. Cagle told police the trailer swayed causing his truck to run off the road and strike four utility poles. The single vehicle incident occurred at around 4:37 p.m. near Delaware County Road 100 West.
A resident near the accident site reported that the power outage lasted nearly nine hours and kept the highway closed past midnight. While emergency and power crews attended to the scene, another vehicle ran off the road to avoid colliding with the disabled truck.
Even though at least fifteen police officers have been killed in Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (CVPI) rear-end collisions, and more than double that number have been burned or injured since 1983, the CVPI continues to be the most popular police cruiser for Indiana State Police, City and Sheriff departments. Indiana is not alone in their preference for the CVPI, as the CVPI is the most common vehicle used by our nation’s law enforcement. In fact, in the State of New York, CVPI’s constitute over 80% of the State Police’s cruiser inventory.
Following a near fatal collisionwith a New York State Trooper (driving a Crown Vic) and a semi tractor trailer, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today renewed his call for the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) to re-open and broaden an investigation to determine why the car and its sister models catch fire upon impact.
Schumer said that now that over a dozen officers in the country, including a New York State Trooper near Yonkers in December, have been killed in Crown Victoria accidents, the problem must be investigated immediately. A County Deputy Sheriff narrowly escaped death Friday morning when his Crown Victoria police car collided with a tractor trailer and caught on fire.
Schumer renews call for National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to investigate why Crown Vics are susceptible to fiery accidents, and how to better remedy the problem. Previous attempts to retro-fit the cars have had little impact, and the most recent incident in New York demonstrates this ongoing issue. "This is a no-brainer. No one should have to explain how important it is to make sure our police officers have cars that are safe. We know that there's a problem, and now we need to figure out what we need to do to solve it," Schumer said. "If that means changing cars so that a different model is used, so be it. Time is of the essence and the longer we wait, the more accidents we'll see."
In May of this year, Schumer said the NHTSA should continue to investigate why the cars are especially susceptible to explosions, rear-end and otherwise, and what can be done to remedy the problem. Because NHTSA's previous suggestion to retro-fit the cars did not prevent recent accidents, Schumer said the NHTSA should consider whether there should be a nationwide moratorium on the purchase of any additional CVPI’s until remedial measures – like installing fuel bladders used in the auto racing industry, and fire suppression systems like those used in military vehicles – are proven effective.
Investigators in Hamilton County are pointing to icy roads as the cause of two accidents resulting in three deaths that occurred within miles of each other. One of the fatalities occurred in a crash on State Road 37 near 206th Street, and two others lost their lives near 216th Street.
206th Street & State Road 37
Hamilton County emergency crews responded to the automobile accident on State Road 37 near 206th Street. Four people were rushed to the hospital from the scence. One did not survive. Accident re-constructionists are working to piece together what happened; however, emergency crews presenting to the scene noted ice on the road.
State Road 37 & 216th Street
Only minutes later while investigators with the Hamilton County Fatal Alcohol Crash Team were reviewing the accident scene at 206th street, another vehicle crashed on North SR 37 near 216th Street.
A Boone County firefighter was hospitalized with injuries after he was struck by a semi-tractor trailer on Friday morning.
Fred Long, a 46 year-old Jamestown volunteer firefighter, was struck on Interstate 74 while he was responding to an accident near the 54th mile marker in Boone County. Police investigators believed the truck jackknifed as its operator was attempting to avoid the accident scene Long had been responding to. In the process, the semi-truck hit another vehicle and then struck Long, throwing and pinning him under the rear axle. Physicians attending to his injuries noted that Long had a crushed pelvis, a fractured leg, and multiple internal injuries.
Driving in Snowy Weather
Snow and ice on the road can make for hazardous driving conditions that can lead to serious Indiana injuries and accidents. Just because poor weather conditions exist does not mean that there aren’t steps that you can take to drive safely and prevent auto accidents from happening. As the driver of a car, truck, or bus, there are additional steps you can to exercise even greater care to avoid auto crashes from happening in poor weather, including:
When individuals become the victim or are a party to a collision or motor vehicle accident, a myriad of insurance and legal concerns may present themselves. To preserve and protect their rights, it is critical that motorists, passengers and pedestrians who are involved in serious accidents immediately collect and preserve evidence for future dealings with insurance companies and for possible litigation. Such items include police reports, accident photos, witness statements, driving records and medical records.
As litigation attorneys, it is not at all uncommon for our firm to see injury victims incur medical bills, property damage, lost wages or pain and suffering as a result of such incidents. As a victim, these are all items for which they are entitled to compensation. Injuries affect entire families through loss of services, lost wages, loss of companionship and even the loss of love and affection of the injured person. Achieving just compensation for people involved in any type of automobile, motorcycle or trucking accident, as well as those affected by the event, requires active participation by not only a skilled attorney familiar with such areas of practice, but by the victims and families themselves.
As temperatures closed in on freezing Tuesday afternoon and continued through Wednesday, holiday travelers faced icy and dangerous road conditions. Dozens of accidents, injuries and a number of fatalities were blamed on the conditions and at least two interstates were shut down for hours.
In Indianapolis, Indiana, all lanes were closed on I-465 in both directions at Meridian Street early Wednesday morning because of icy conditions and numerous crashes made 465 on the northwest side look like a parking lot . Portions of I-69 between Fishers and Anderson were also forced to closed Tuesday and into Wednesday to allow salt trucks to come in to treat specific areas in an attempt to get traffic moving.
At least five deaths were reported across the Indiana from crashes on slick roads Tuesday.
A crash in Boone County claimed the life of a 79-year-old man and his 77-year-old wife. Two crashes in Dubois County killed an 18-year-old man and 30-year-old pregnant woman. The woman's fetus did not survive.
Benton County is under a declared a State of Emergency effective at 11:00 am Wednesday.
The Owen County Sheriff's Office reported a fatal crash Tuesday afternoon. Emergency service divers found the body of a man inside the vehicle. The county coroner is working with police to identify the man. Police believe the crash is likely weather related.
Accident reports can typically found after 10 days following the date of incident. Most reports can be found on the Indiana BMV website:
The CMS and HHS have developed a new Five-Star Rating system that evaluates Nursing Home care.
According to the CMS website, the Five-Star Quality Rating System was created to help consumers, their families, and caregivers compare nursing homes more easily and help identify areas about which you may want to ask questions. This rating system is based on continued efforts as a result of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA '87), a nursing home reform law, and more recent quality improvement campaigns such as the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes, a coalition of consumers, health care providers, and nursing home professionals.
Nursing home ratings are taken from the following three sources of data:
The federal government through the CMS (The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) has placed hundreds of nursing homes on a list of long-term care facilities that it wants to improve systemic issues or face expulsion from the Medicaid program.
The watch list is intended to heighten efforts to bring more attention to quality deficiencies at long-term care or nursing home facilities identified on this "special focus facility," or SFF, list.
