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The school bell is about to ring, and students across the state will be back to studying and homework. But they’re also back to increased risks for pedestrian accidents. During the first month of every school year, we see a significant increase in injury and a significant increase in the number of pedestrian accidents.And that’s why we have the Indiana Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program. According to the Indiana Department of Transportation that was created to make walking and biking to school safe and routine.

Our Highland child injury lawyers understand that oftentimes children don’t understand all of the dangerous associated with walking near traffic. This is why it’s imperative for parents to step up and to address pedestrian safety. In 2010, nearly one in every five children between the ages of 5 and 9 who were killed in traffic crashes was a pedestrian, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Unintentional pedestrian injuries are the second leading cause of death in the United States for children between 5- and 14-years-old. Teenagers are also at greatest risk. Teenagers have a death rate twice that of younger children and account for half of all child pedestrian injuries in the past five years.

Before the big first day, share these safety tips with the young pedestrians in your family:

-Talk with your children about how to be safe while walking.

-Make sure you plan out a route for your child to take to and from school. This route should be along less-traveled roadways and it should be equipped with sidewalks as well as safe intersections.

-It’s always best to walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.

-Make sure that children always cross at an intersection. Accidents are more likely to happen at non-intersection areas.

-Before children step onto the pavement, teach them to look left and right for oncoming traffic. Teach them to keep looking left and right as they cross the road for any surprise dangers.

-Make sure your child crosses the road with their headphones off. Pedestrians can use their hearing to help to avoid an accident.

-Try to make eye contact with drivers when crossing the road. Just because you can see them, doesn’t always mean they can see you.

-If a child needs to use a cell phone, make sure they know to come to a complete stop on the side of the road before using it.

-Have your child walk with a group of kids from the neighborhood who go to the same school. Safety in numbers largely applies to pedestrians.

-Get out there and walk with them before the big day. Show your children how to walk safely.
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We may have passed the deadliest day to be on the road (July 4), but August 1 kicked off the deadliest month to be driving.According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more drivers died in the month of August than any other month of the year. This fact has held true every year since 1994. MSN MONEY reports that more than 90 people die each day during the month of August. That’s a fatality every 16 minutes. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), several of the deadliest days on our roadways occur during the month of August.

Our Highland car accident lawyers understand that many of you are using this time to get out and go on those summer vacations. Unfortunately, we can’t take a vacation from safety as your risks for a traffic collision on the way to and from your summertime destination are alarmingly high.

Officials believe that the risks are higher during this time because there are more people out on our roads and there are more miles being traveled. Whenever there is an increase in travel, there’s an increase in accidents as well. This is also why we’re likely to see more accidents during the weekend days. That’s when people are out running more errands and visiting places.

As a matter of fact, Saturdays are the most dangerous day of the week. In 2009, Saturdays averaged about 123 fatalities a day. Sundays were ranked as the second-deadliest day in 2009, with an average of 107 deaths, followed by Fridays with 102 average fatalities.

Wherever your summertime destination may be, it’s important that you take a minute to review some safe travel tips before heading out from SaferCar.gov. Planning and prevention are the measures that are going to help to keep you safe:

Before You Go:

-Check the inflation in your tires. Proper tire pressure is going to help to prevent a breakdown or an accident.

-Look under your hood, make sure that all fluids are filled and belts are in good-working order.

-Check the lights in and out of your vehicle. Make sure that all are working properly.

-Make sure you windshield wipers work properly. In the middle of a rainstorm is not the time to figure this kind of information out.

On The Road:

-Stay off your phone and avoid all distractions while you’re behind the wheel. Driving needs your full attention.

-Make sure you share the road, especially with pedestrians. These individuals are just as vulnerable (if not more) than a bicyclist or a motorcyclist.

-Never drink and drive. Although you might want to let loose a little bit on your vacation, just make sure you don’t mix it with driving.

-Make sure you leave with plenty of time to spare so you can better avoid rushing and road rage.

-Know where you’re going. Behind the wheel is no time to mess with a GPS.
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Following the repeal earlier this summer of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, our Northwest Indiana divorce lawyers theorized that Indiana’s own gay marriage laws might soon be challenged.It now seems that could be happening sooner than we anticipated, and its happening in the form of a divorce case that’s been filed in Indianapolis.

The case involves an Indiana man who married his same-sex partner in Massachusetts. The two have since separated and are seeking a divorce.

The problem is that he doesn’t meet the residency requirements necessary to file for divorce in Massachusetts. So, he was directed by his divorce lawyer to file his petition with the Marion County clerk’s office in Indianapolis.

The problem, of course, is that Indiana doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages. Lawmakers say next year, they intend to push for the law to be entered into the Indiana constitution, making it much tougher to repeal.

However, unlike some states with similar statutes defining marriage strictly as a male-female union, Indiana also has a provision specifically barring same-sex divorce.

That means that unless the laws change in either Indiana or Massachusetts – or this man moves to Massachusetts – he is unable to obtain a divorce.

It’s unclear, though, what role the repeal of DOMA could have in this case and others like it. One Indiana University Maurer School of Law associate professor was quoted as saying that DOMA could potentially change the outcome of this case. The repeal of DOMA doesn’t require that the state recognize same-sex marriages or divorces.

However, if a judge wanted to rule in favor of recognizing one of these unions, or in providing a divorce, he or she could use the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in the DOMA case as legal backing.

So the outcome of this case could just depend on how the judge handling it wants to interpret the law.

The Supreme Court decision focused on whether the federal government had a legal right to deny tax, pension and health benefits to same-sex couples in states where they were legally allowed to marry. Specifically, the question was whether denial of these benefits was a violation of the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees equal protection and due process.

In the end, the court ruled that DOMA did in fact violate the Fifth Amendment and the federal government had to extend the same rights to legally-married gay couples as it does to straight ones. However, it doesn’t force states like Indiana, which don’t recognize gay marriage, to now recognize it in any capacity.

This case is a wild card because there is really no telling how the family law judge will rule. A lot of people are watching closely to find out.

If the judge strikes down the divorce request, the plaintiff’s attorney said he will likely appeal to the Indiana Court of Appeals.
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You know that distracted driving is dangerous, but did you realize that those hands-free devices in your car are just as dangerous? That’s right. According to The Street, hands-free phones are just as distracting as holding a phone to your ear.”‘Hands-free’ is not risk free,” says David Strayer, who recently studied distracted driving for AAA.

Our Highland car accident lawyers understand that people feel that they need to be connected 24/7. At the same time, we’re forgetting how important it is that we’re safe 24/7, too. And that’s why officials with the Governors Highway Safety Administration (GHSA) are working to focus on each state’s efforts to crack down on distracted driving. Sure, national ads and campaigns are great, but it’s true that local and state awareness, education and enforcement are just as (if not more) successful.

According to the recent report, “2013 Distracted Driving: Survey of the States,” much of today’s focus on distracted driving centers on the use of cell phones behind the wheel and our growing dependency on these versatile devices. From simple conversations to text messaging to mobile information sources, hand-held cell phone technology is an attractive answer to many of our mobile lifestyle needs. At the same time, rapidly advancing communication and information processing technologies have continued to capture the attention and spending of American consumers.

Officials with GHSA surveyed states in 2012 to see exactly out how they were responding to this significant safety issue. And the results were alarming.

According to the report, the state of Indiana did include distracted driving in its state strategic highway safety plan. Unfortunately, the report also found out that there was a lack of funding for enforcement, as well as a lack of funding for media, campaign materials and enforcement support. It also found there is not a strong enough law on the books to discourage this dangerous behavior.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), only drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from using a handheld cell phone while driving. On the other hand, all drivers are banned from text messaging. But how is an officer supposed to be able to tell if you were dialing a phone number (legal) or typing a text message to send (illegal)? You see that officers have a tough time determining which act is taking place and therefor have a tough time enforcing these rules.

Until lawmakers step up with stricter laws and tougher enforcement efforts, driver won’t feel the need to hang up. That’s why we’re turning to you, asking for your help in the battle against distracted driving. Step up, put the phone down (or bluetooth headset) and help to improve roadway safety for everyone. Keep your attention on the road at all times. Sharing that attention with a phone just isn’t worth the risks.
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With all of the anti-drunk driving campaigns, residents and visitors may be more likely to be involved in a pedestrian accident blamed on alcohol. While drunk driving campaigns are great in preventing drunk driving accidents, they only increase the risk of drunk walking accidents.According to Associated Press, there were more than 1,500 pedestrians who were legally drunk and the time of their fatal accident in 2011. This means that close to 40 percent of all of the pedestrians killed in 2011 were legally intoxicated. This is a new epidemic and we’re seeing an alarming increase in the risks. It’s a particularly important message as college classes resume.

Our Highland accident lawyers understand that there were nearly 100 pedestrians killed in the state of Indiana in 2011. These accidents accounted for close to 10 percent of all the traffic fatalities recorded during the year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is making prevention a priority. The agency recently announced a new set of tools to help communities fight to problem, allocated roughly $2 million in pedestrian safety grants and launched a new one-stop shop website with resources for community leaders as well as safety tips for residents.

“We all have a reason to support pedestrian safety, and now, everyone has new tools to help make a difference,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

The problem here is that alcohol can negatively affect a pedestrian’ judgment too, just as it would a driver’s. It can lead them to make poor decisions while traveling, like trying to beat a vehicle heading down the road, crossing against a traffic light or even crossing in the wrong place. Any one of these wrong decisions (among a multitude of other wrong decisions) can land you in the hospital or leave you for dead.

On average, a pedestrian was killed every two hours and injured every eight minutes in traffic accidents in the United States last year.

But it’s not just the pedestrians that have officials worried. They’re also seeing an increase in the number of intoxicated bicyclists who are injured or killed.

While you may think that walking home after a night of drinking is your safest bet, you might want to think again. Consider getting a cab or calling a friend or family member to come get you. Whatever you do, you want to stay away from moving traffic. It’s a move that could save your life.

Thanks to the AAA DUI Justice Link, that connection can be made. On this site, officials with the NHTSA created a listing of sober/safe ride programs across the country. Save a number in your phone, and you’re sure to have a save and sober ride home every time.
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As destination weddings have become all the rage in recent years, it was probably only a matter of time before someone began marketing “destination divorces.”The concept first caught on in the Netherlands, but it wasn’t long before an American reality show was proposed on the concept and now, a company out of Fort Wayne is offering to help couples do just that: Basically, take a long weekend at a resort and get divorced.

The Daily Beast recently ran an article on the phenomenon.

Our Highland divorce attorneys can understand why the concept is so appealing. Having your divorce over in the course of a weekend – while being pampered, no less – sounds great to a lot of people.

Plus, people like the idea of having more control during the litigation process and avoiding an acrimonious lawsuit that will be ultimately decided by a judge.

The Fort Wayne destination divorce service, meanwhile, offers you a weekend with “no lawyers, no judges, no courtrooms, no fear of billable fees.” The website offers three straight days of mediation, where amenities such as golfing, massages or pool time is available whenever time is needed to “settle down and come back to the table with a clear head.”

That sounds great, right?

Sure, until you realize that the outcome puts you at a disadvantage for being able to move on with the next chapter of your life. Not having an attorney to help guide you through the separation and divorce process, be your advocate and look out for your interests might leave you in a very bad position financially.

Plus, some people might be able to purge all of the pent up emotions from years of a toxic marriage during the course of an afternoon swim or round of golf. But that wouldn’t be most people. Your lawyer is the person you pay to have a clear head throughout the proceedings because you expect it will be an emotionally-charged event.

Additionally, there is really no way, especially if you have young children or if you were married a long time, that you can legitimately iron out all the legal concerns the two of you have over the course of three days. Chances are, you spent more time than that planning your wedding.

The end may have come sooner than you would have liked (or not soon enough, depending on your situation). Regardless, you have to view your divorce planning as preparation for the rest of your life. That means you probably have more to consider than who gets the car and who’s keeping the dog. There are tax considerations. There are retirement plans to divvy up. There could be issues of child custody or child support. There may be joint debts or assets that have to be carefully considered and divided.

The only cases for which we might be able to see a destination divorce working would be those in which the parties were married a very short time, had little or no shared assets or debts and had zero issues of conflict to work out. Even then, we would still suggest that an experienced family law attorney at least conduct a cursory review of your case to ensure that nothing is being overlooked.
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We’re currently in the middle of the most dangerous time for teenagers to be behind the wheel. According to USA TODAY, the most dangerous months for our newly-licensed drivers are from June through November. August is the most dangerous month of all, holding 4 of the deadliest days for our young motorists.In the month of August, the 1st, 2nd, 14th and 29th are the most dangerous, all of them seeing more than 14 teenage fatalities in the last few years.

Our Highland car accident attorneys understand that there are many factors that put our newly-licensed drivers at risk for fatal traffic collisions. Two of the most common that we see are driving under the influence and distracted driving. While those are the factors that get the most attention, we’re forgetting about one big one — speeding!

Did you know that speed was a factor in roughly a third of all fatal teen car accidents in 2011? And that’s a number that has been on the rise since 2000.

According to a recent study from the Governors Highway Safety Administration (GHSA), there were close to 20,000 speed-related accidents in the U.S. among teen drivers from 2000 to 2011.

Still, car accidents continue to be the number one cause of death for teens not only in Florida, but elsewhere throughout the nation.

According to Susan Ferguson, a highway consultant who authored the report, if we’re going to make progress is helping our teens to driver safer, then we’re going to have to put more emphasis on speed limits.

Believe it or not, but about half of all fatal accidents that involve a 16-year-old driver with three of more passengers in the vehicle is speed-related.

And the worst offenders are our younger males. They’re more likely than any other driver to speed out there.

So how can parents and guardians help? Encouraging teens to develop the right attitudes today can lead to a lifetime of safety. Involved, informed parents have long been considered the most influential factor in promoting safe teen driving.

-Sit down and talk with your child about the importance of following all road laws and regulations.

-Make sure you’re providing your child with plenty of supervised driving time. By keeping an eye on their developing habits, you can help to steer them into the right direction and a lifetime of safe navigation.

-Consider creating a parent-teen driving contract. Lay out all of the driving rules you deem necessary and make sure the consequences for breaking these rules are included.

-Remind your young drivers to keep their eyes on the road. No distraction is worth losing a life.

-Keep communicating your expectations for their driving. Keeping the idea fresh in their mind will help them to perform better behind the wheel.
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Calling the practice “repugnant and contrary to public policy,” the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that for parents to negotiate lesser parenting time with their children as a means of reducing child support obligations is not legal.As such, our Hammond child custody lawyers understand that the court has instructed family law attorneys to refuse to be a part of such discussions and further to advise clients that engaging in such talks is “unacceptable.”

The court further ruled in this case, Perkinson v. Perkinson that the trial court had abused its discretion by prohibiting the father from exercising any parenting time with his child and further providing no means whatsoever by which he could earn parenting time.

This kind of strong language is rare for the state’s highest court, which handed down a unanimous 5-0 decision in the case. The ruling stems from a 2006 divorce case in which the father was required to give up all parenting time with his child in exchange for the mother assuming sole financial responsibility for the child.

While the initial divorce dissolution agreement was something to which the father had consented, he later attempted to change the arrangement and get time with his child. However, per the terms of the agreement, he was repeatedly denied by the county court.

The Supreme Court ruled that the issues of parenting time and child support are to be decided separately. One should not rely on the other. Rare are the cases, the court said, where the best interest of the child will involve eliminating the parenting time of either parent.

In reaching its conclusion, the court cited the U.S. Supreme Court case of Troxel v. Granville, which held that the right of both parents to be involved in the upbringing of their child is historically and fundamentally imperative and should not be infringed upon except in the most extreme circumstances.

In its discussion regarding this tactic of “contracting away” parenting time rights, the court said that one parent would give up his or her right to parent their own child in lieu of not paying child support is “incomprehensible.” In fact, to do so is directly contrary to the state’s public policy of protecting the welfare of children, which assumes that children have the right to, at the very least, be financially supported by both parents. The court can’t force a parent to spend time with his child, but it can hold him accountable to pay for the child’s needs. For the custodial parent to contract away those financial benefits is a violation of that parent’s fiduciary duty to the child.

Further, the court found that obligating the father to pay an arrearage if he later sought to spend time with his child only serves to discourage development of the parent-child bond. That’s why the two issues have to remain separate, a point well-established in the 2000 Farmer v. Farmer case.

The only case in which parenting time should be restricted, the court ruled, is when failure to do so would endanger the child’s physical health or emotional development.
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According to JConline, two truck drivers were killed around 7:30 a.m. in a three-semi crash along I-65 between the Indiana 25 and Indiana 43 exits. Two of the semis were stopped on the side of the road, with their triangles out, and we’re hit by a passing semi who failed to see them and so didn’t allow them enough safety space.But that’s not all with the accidents for that week. According to KYPost, another accident happen with the same scenario. A tractor-trailer was broken down on the side of the road when it was rear-ended by another passing semi. This accident forced officials to shut down part of the interstate along a stretch of eastbound Interstate 275 near Lawrenceburg.

Our Indiana truck accident attorneys understand that these large, commercial vehicles don’t operate like the passenger vehicles. Because of their size, weight and power, accidents involving these trucks oftentimes turn deadly. As a matter of fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that there were close to 4,000 people killed in trucking accidents across the U.S. in 2011. In addition to these fatalities, there were 100,000 people injured. Fatalities in accidents involving these trucks in 2011 actually increased 2 percent year over year. During that same year, Indianan saw close to 150 tractor-trailers involved in fatal accidents.

But whose fault is it?

Nearly 20 percent of all large-truck drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2011 had at least one prior speeding conviction, compared to 18 percent of passenger car drivers involved in fatal crashes.

So how can you help to avoid one of these accidents?

– Avoid cutting off large trucks. They take a lot longer to stop than our passenger vehicles do. You don’t want to get caught in front of one.

-Always wear a seat belt. This is your best defense against injury or death in the event of an accident.

-Stay out of a trucker’s blind spots. These are the areas around the truck that the driver cannot see. A good rule of thumb is to remember that if you can’t see a truck driver, then they cannot see you.

-Pay attention to the road and the traffic around you. When you are driving, please focus only on the road. If you need to attend to another matter while driving, safely pull over in a parking lot or rest stop.

-Keep a safety cushion around trucks. Try to leave a 10-car length gap when in front of a truck and 20-25 car lengths when behind a truck.

-Remember that trucks make wide turns. Because of their large size, remember that a truck making a right turn may first swing left to clear the corner. Conversely, a truck making a left turn may first swing right to clear vehicles and other objects on its left side. Expect this and be prepared!
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A truck that was heading southbound on Indiana 1 reportedly didn’t stop at railroad tracks and wound up getting slammed into by a westbound train. One person died in this accident. According to Wayne County Sheriff Jeff Cappa, the man who died was the 92-year-old truck driver. Accident reports indicate that the man drove right through the crossing gate (which was down at the time) before hitting the train.According to the Indy Star, the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Following the accident, emergency crews and railroad workers had to close the roadway in both directions.

Our Highland car accident lawyers understand that railroad tracks can be a dangerous place, and many of us overlook the dangers associated with these areas. According to Operation Lifesaver, there were close to 2,000 collisions at railroad crossings in the U.S. in 2012. In these accidents, there were more than 270 people killed and close to 950 injured.

According to a report issued by the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General, 94 percent of all grade crossing accidents are caused by risky driver behavior. Still, more than a dozen states are under federal mandate to improve crossing safety and many railroad crossings lack proper warning equipment. In other cases, the equipment may be in disrepair. These cases should always be carefully reviewed by an experienced injury attorney.

Did you know that it takes a train more than a mile to brake and come to a complete stop? Even it hits something.

There are more than 210,005 railroad crossings in the United States — and that equates to some serious danger — especially when 129,644 intersect with public roads. It’s no wonder why every 90 minutes there is a train collision or derailment.

Railroad Crossing Accident Statistics:

-Close to 65 percent happen during the daylight hours.

-About a quarter of accidents happen when a vehicle slams into a train.

-Most of the accidents happen while a train is traveling less than 30 miles per hour.

-Most accidents happen within 25 miles of the driver’s home.

-A typical locomotive pulling 100 railcars can weigh roughly 6,000 tons, making the weight ratio of a train to an automobile proportional to that of an automobile and a soda can.

-Dying is about 40 times more likely when involved in an accident with a train in comparison to an accident with another vehicle.

-Track defects contributed to more than 34 percent of accidents.

Officials with the Indiana Department of Transportation are here with some railroad crossing safety tips to keep you safe out there:

Remember that trains don’t run on schedules and be unpredictable. When you do encounter one, you want to yield to it — not expect it to yield to you. When you’re at a crossing and see warnings signals, don’t ignore them — ever. Lastly, remember that these trains travel a lot faster than you think. One in four crashes occurring at highway-rail crossings takes place when drivers run into the side of the train. Often, it’s because the driver is going too fast for conditions, such as darkness, rainy weather or fog.
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Phone: 219-836-2200
Fax: 219-836-9388

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