Articles Posted in Car Accidents

With warmer weather rolling in, it seems as good of a time as ever to pull that motorcycle out from storage to soak in the sunshine and longer daylight hours. With more people out on the roads these days as the world reopens; however, motorcyclists and drivers alike must exercise extra caution while driving. As more people return to traveling and commuting, motorcycles continue to be a popular and less expensive mode of transportation. Motorcyclists, however, are often exposed to additional risks and a heightened chance of a deadly or serious accident—and those who are at fault in these collisions must be held accountable.

In a recent local news report, a motorcycle accident in central Indiana left a man dead. According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the motorcyclist was traveling eastbound when he lost control of his bike. The motorcyclist was thrown from his bike across the median into oncoming traffic and was struck by a vehicle. The motorcycle also separately crashed into a second vehicle before coming to a stop. When officers arrived on the scene, the motorcyclist was suffering from significant physical injuries and was later pronounced dead on the scene. The accident remains under investigation by local authorities.

In Indiana, like other states, motorcyclists must adhere to the basic rules of the road. In addition, all motorcycle riders and passengers under the age of 18 must wear a motorcycle helmet. Motorcyclists are also barred by Indiana laws from lane splitting, which is when a rider operates their bike between two lanes of cars driving in the same direction. Passengers of motorcyclists can only ride with the motorcyclist when there is a seat attached and designed for passenger use—and can only do so on Class A motorcycles, but not on Class B motorcycles. Lastly, all motorcyclists are required to use a headlamp when operating their bikes, which must be illuminated at all times that the bike is in operation. Any violation of these laws could result in fines up to $500, and you could risk getting your license suspended for up to one year.

When you are involved in an accident where the at-fault party was a drunk driver or operating their vehicle under the influence, it may make sense to assume that if the at-fault party is charged with criminal liabilities from the accident, that you should be compensated as well. This, however, is not the case, and it is crucial that potential plaintiffs know the difference between civil and criminal liability.

According to a local news report, three Indiana residents were recently killed in a wrong-way crash. A man was stopped in a Hyundai SUV on the shoulder of the road facing the wrong direction when an Indiana state trooper stopped at his vehicle to assist. When the trooper parked in front of the SUV and got out of his squad car to approach the Hyundai, the Hyundai began to drive forward. The trooper pounded on the driver of the Hyundai’s windshield, yelling for him to stop, but the driver swung around the police vehicle and drove about a half-mile in the wrong direction before crashing into another vehicle head-on. That vehicle was carrying two occupants. All three victims in both vehicles were pronounced dead at the scene. The crash is still under investigation, but local authorities suspect alcohol or drugs could have been a factor in the accident.

In Indiana, “operating while intoxicated” (OWI) is used instead of “driving under the influence.” When operating a vehicle under the influence, the state considers an OWI offense to be criminal. In Indiana, like other states, criminal investigations into whether alcohol or drugs were involved in a case have no bearing on a personal injury or civil lawsuit pertaining to damages. Thus, even if the at-fault party in an accident is facing criminal charges, potential plaintiffs must advance their own case separately if they wish to recover damages from the accident.

Indiana hit and run accidents have been on the rise in the last decade. These accidents take place for many reasons, but drivers who flee the scene after an accident most commonly do so because they panic, do not have car insurance, or are driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Regardless of why a motorist leaves the scene of an accident, hit and run accidents are tragic, and often have deadly consequences.

For example, in a recent local news report, Indiana police are searching for a driver who fled the scene after they hit a woman and killed her. According to surrounding surveillance cameras, the woman was walking to her mother’s home at the time of the crash when the car hit her and drove away afterward, leaving her unresponsive and lying in the street with significant injuries. Local authorities reported that the woman was found dead at the scene. Local law enforcement is still investigating the details surrounding the accident.

Under Indiana laws, hit and runs are crashes that result in injury or death where the at-fault party flees the scene. When an accident occurs, drivers are expected to remain at the scene or return immediately to provide auto insurance and driver’s license information. In Indiana, when a driver flees the scene after causing a collision, they could be charged with a Class B misdemeanor for abandoning the scene of an accident. With a Class B misdemeanor, at-fault parties could be punished with up to 180 days in jail and a penalty of up to $1000.

Often, when we think of an Indiana drunk driving accident, we think of it from the perspective of the drivers or passengers in another vehicle. However, many DUI accidents are single-vehicle accidents in which the driver of the car is unable to maintain control of the car. In such cases, the passengers in the car may be injured due to no fault of their own.

Indiana personal injury law allows for anyone who was injured due to the negligence of another to bring a claim against the at-fault party. Thus, even in a single-vehicle accident, passengers who were injured in a drunk driving accident could pursue a claim against the drunk driver. Notably, the claim would not be against the drunk driver themselves so much as it would be against their insurance company.

Accidents victims should be aware, however, that there can be hurdles to recovery in these situations. For example, the defendant in a drunk driving lawsuit may claim that the passenger knew the driver was drunk, and assumed the risk of an accident by agreeing to ride with them. While Indiana courts have held that such a situation will not bar a plaintiff from recovering for their injuries, assumption of the risk in this context may reduce the amount of compensation that the accident victim receives.

The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration conducts research and create publications to provide the public with relevant crash statistics and data to prevent accidents and promote traffic safety. The agencies found that driver-related factors accounted for 87 percent of Indiana motor vehicle accidents and 96 percent of fatal accidents. According to the report, Indiana collisions have risen in the past four years, and fatal accidents have increased by 7.5 percent during that time.

Research indicates that unsafe driver actions are the leading cause of collisions in the state. Unsafe driver actions include behaviors such as following too closely, failure to give the right of way and speeding. After unsafe driver actions, a driver’s loss of control was the next most common cause of Indiana car accidents. Unsafe driving and loss of control often result in a disastrous head-on collisions.

Head-on collisions occur when two cars in opposite lanes crash into each other. These types of crashes are more likely to occur on undivided and rural roads in the state. Other common reasons for head-on collisions are fatigued and distracted driving. Often drowsy drivers will drift into the opposite lane and into oncoming traffic. Head-on collisions are the most dangerous type of accident, and victims may suffer brain and organ damage, broken bones, paralysis, significant emotional trauma, and even death.

When a motorist is injured in an Indiana car accident as the result of someone else’s negligence, state law allows the victim to recover damages against the party at fault through a civil lawsuit. However, plaintiffs should always be aware of potential reductions in their monetary award, including reductions due to comparative negligence. In Indiana, comparative negligence laws will reduce a plaintiff’s recovery if they were at all at fault, and the award may be lessened by the amount the plaintiff was at fault. For instance, if in a car accident the court finds that the plaintiff was 5% at fault and the defendant was 95% at fault, the plaintiff’s $100,000 award would be reduced to $95,000.

Plaintiffs often need a damages award to cover medical bills, lost wages, and other costs that they accrued in the aftermath of an accident. Luckily, Indiana law includes important limits on what can and cannot count as evidence of comparative negligence. An important example is seat belt non-use evidence. When an individual does not wear a seat belt, they may be more likely to get injured if they do get into an automobile accident. However, in Indiana, an appellate court made clear in a 2015 case that evidence of seat belt non-use cannot count as evidence to reduce a plaintiff’s award. According to the court’s written opinion, Indiana plaintiffs injured in car accidents can still receive the full amount of recovery, even if they were not wearing their seat belt at the time of the accident.

Even after the clear court opinion, defendants may still try to use seat belt non-use evidence to convince a jury or a judge to reduce a plaintiff’s award. Plaintiffs can use the 2015 ruling to suppress this evidence by filing something called a motion in limine. If granted, this motion ensures that a jury will not see or hear evidence about a plaintiff’s seat belt non-use, which could prejudice the plaintiff. While the rule is pretty straightforward, it can sometimes be difficult to spot sneaky attempts at introducing evidence or pinning the blame on the plaintiff, so accident victims are advised to be vigilant in their civil suits. Additionally, the assistance of an attorney experienced in spotting these issues can take some of the pressure off of the victim and their family while they recover from their injuries.

Indiana personal injury lawsuits often involve just two parties, the victim and the individual or entity that caused the victim’s injury. However, some Indiana car accidents include several parties, depending on the circumstances surrounding the accident. Most frequently, this occurs in multi-vehicle crashes. In such cases, it may be challenging to establish the course of events that led up to the victim’s injury.

For example, recently, seven people were injured, and three died in a multi-vehicle accident on an Indiana highway. Tragically, a 29-year-old woman and her toddlers were the individuals that suffered fatal injuries in the crash. According to a local Indiana news report, the deadly accident involved seven vehicles, including a semi-trailer. The domino effect apparently began when the semi-trailer slammed into the cars in front of the truck.

The truck driver told police officials that he was forced to slam on his brakes when a vehicle that was not involved in the accident cut in front of him. The sudden braking caused him to crash into several cars. However, other witnesses claimed that they witnessed the truck driver speeding on the highway. They believe he quickly applied his brakes because he did not notice the stopped traffic in front of him. One of the cars the truck hit was dragged about 300 yards before eventually crashing into two additional vehicles. Although state police arrested the truck driver, the driver still maintains that the accident occurred because he was cut off.