Month: February 2012

Indiana Personal Injury Attorney Discusses Winter Driving Tips

Posted on by John Young
Indiana Accident Attorney

In Indiana we must drive in the snow for three to five months out of the year.  Driving in the snow does not reduce the amount of care a driver must use in order to drive safely.  We are all bound to use reasonable care when driving.  This means that in snow, we must drive a little slower, give ourselves more time to get where we are going and put a little more distance between ourselves and the driver in front of us.  We must use care to remove the ice and snow from our windows, so that our vision is not  blocked.  We must remover accumulations of snow and ice from around our head lights and brake lights to increase our visibility and increase the chances of being seen by other drivers.  We must ensure that our tires have a good tread to give us as much traction as we can get on the snow.  We must slow down farther away from stoplights and stop signs so that we do not slide into the intersection.  We must make sure we have sufficient wiper fluid in the reservoir so that when the salt collects on our wind shield we can effectively wipe it away.

As always, we must not drink and drive.  Drunk driving collisions are more frequent in the snow because the drunk driver has even less control and reaction time.

Take your time, give yourself plenty of room and give the other driver a break.  If we do we can all get where we are going safe and sound.

Indiana Social Security Lawyer Discusses How to Prepare to Apply For Disability

Posted on by John Young

As Indiana’s Social Security Lawyer, I am often asked how to file for social security benefits.  There are three ways an application may be filed.   They are, in no particular order, Online at www.ssa.gov, in person at your local social security office, or an over the phone interview.  Regardless of which method you choose, a little preparation will make the process a little easier for everyone.  This preparation will also increase your chances of being successful in your application.

I advise my clients to make four lists.  The first list is a list of your health care providers with name, address, and telephone number.  As we have discussed in the past, the Social Security Administration requires documentation of your disability.  This documentation is  necessarily medical documentation.  Therefore, having your health care providers at your finger tips will make the application process easier and will increase your chances of earning a favorable decision earlier. The next list is  a list of your medications, what they are prescribed to treat and what side effects you have as a result of the medications.  Side effects from certain medications can be as disabling as the disease they are intended to treat, so be complete in listing the side effects. Third list is a list of your employers for the last 15 years with addresses, and telephone numbers. This list should include a short description of the physical requirements of your job, like how much you had to lift, how much you had to walk, sit and stand.  The final list is a list of the injuries, illnesses or diseases which you contend cause you to be disabled.

Of course there is other information you must provide, but having these lists will be of great help to you. Good Luck.

Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyer Discusses Governmental Immunity

Posted on by John Young

Assume you are driving towards an intersection. You have the green light. A police officer is on the intersecting road responding to a trespassing call, with his lights on, but no siren. You cannot see the officer because of a large building that comes almost entirely up to the intersection. You collide with the officer, who makes no attempt to stop or slow and you are suffer serious personal injuries. Your injuries may include broken bones, paralysis, brain injury and possibly wrongful death. You are comforted by the fact that you had the right of way (the green light) and the officer did not try to stop, his insurance will pay for your injuries, right? Not necessarily.

Employees of Indiana governmental entities (like cities, towns, townships, etc) are protected by immunities not available to the common citizen. In our example, because the police officer was “enforcing a law” the governmental entity he/she works for may be entitled to immunity from liability for his negligence. The officer himself cannot be held personally liable to you because of another law which prevents such claims. There are at least 16 different immunities under the Tort Claims Act protecting governmental entities from liability for the negligent acts of its employees. If you would like to read the act it can be found at Indiana Code 34-13-3 and following.

NOTICE: No face-to-face meeting needed. You can remain safely in your home from case signup to settlement.

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