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10
Nov

KSP Spokesman For Safe Driving Involved In Deadly Crash

November10, 2011

Controversy is swirling around a Kentucky State Trooper whose inattentive driving killed a woman he was involved with. He is the Public Affairs officer for the Department, and it is his job is to teach others of the dangers posed by unsafe driving practices. According to WAVE 3 News, the accident happened on September 15 along a rural stretch of Highway 31W in Barren County.

Reports from the accident list the cause of the crash as “inattentive driving” on the part of the trooper who admitted being distracted when he crossed nearly two feet into the oncoming lane of traffic and struck the 33-year-old woman’s silver Ford Mustang.

No charges have been filed against the officer. This has caused some closest to the case to wonder if the investigation into the crash was fair since the trooper’s peers conducted it. Allegations have been denied by top brass.

The Kentucky Car Accident Lawyers with Woods and Woods want to know what you think. Does having the spokesperson for safe driving from the Kentucky State Police being involved in a deadly crash because of distracted driving send mixed messages to the community? How would you handle this situation? Tell us your opinion by posting to our Facebook page.

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3
Nov

Students, Driver, and Teachers Injured In Hit-and-run

November 3, 2011

The excitement of a bus-load of school children headed for a field trip to Mammoth Cave National Park was cut short Thursday when a tractor-trailer hit their bus and drove away. According to Channel 25 News, the accident happened along Interstate 65 near Cave City, Kentucky, at 8:46 AM this morning.

Witnesses say the big-rig truck side-swiped the bus with its trailer and took off down the road, prompting Kentucky State Troopers to begin a search of the area for the truck. The bus driver was not able to get the license number from the truck, as it all happened so fast and rainy weather made it difficult to see.

The bus, carrying 17 fourth-graders from Louisville Collegiate School and their two teachers, stopped immediately to get help for those injured aboard the bus. The entire group was taken to T.J. Sampson Hospital in Glasgow to be treated for non-life threatening injuries such as broken bones. Later, two students were taken to Kosair Children’s Hospital in Louisville, and one adult went to the University of Louisville Hospital.

The Kentucky Truck Accident Lawyers with Woods and Woods often handle cases where victims are injured in accidents involving tractor-trailers. Contact us today by filling out a free online consultation form if you have been injured in an accident and have questions about your case.

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25
Oct

Terre Haute Teen Dies in Crash After Running Away from Youth Home

October 25, 2011

A 17-year-old Indiana boy died in a Terre Haute car crash today after running away from a youth home on Monday and engaging in a crime spree with two other teens.

The victim was a backseat passenger in a pickup truck that hit a light pole late last night in the city limits of Terre Haute on US 41 (3rd Street) northbound at College Street. A trooper had tried to pull the driver over, but he fled and wrecked. The driver ran off immediately following the wreck, but he was caught and jailed after being treated at a hospital.

The victim was taken to an Indianapolis hospital, where he died on Tuesday of head injuries he incurred in the crash.

According to police, on Monday the victim and two other 17-year-old males walked away from a youth home associated with the Gibault Children’s Services of Terre Haute. The boys are then suspected of attacking a man in an attempted carjacking, reports The Indianapolis Star. They also allegedly beat another man and stole his truck, the one involved in the collision today.

Read more.

If you or someone you know has been involved in an Indiana injury or accident, the Indiana lawyers at Woods and Woods can help.

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18
Oct

3 Indiana Men Injured in Highway 65 Wreck

October 18, 2011

A high-speed crash left three Loogootee men injured — one critically — on Monday morning near Indiana’s Posey/Vanderburgh County line.

The Evansville Courier-Press reports that the crash occurred around 7 a.m. when the 19-year-old driver of a northbound Ford F-350 lost control of the truck when negotiating a curve and hit an embankment. Before coming to a stop, the truck rolled several times. Two passengers were partially ejected from the vehicle. A 42-year-old passenger and 22-year-old passenger were both pinned beneath the truck.

All three men were transported by ambulance to Deaconess Hospital. The driver and 22-year-old passenger were treated and released, but the 42-year-old male suffered internal injuries and required emergency surgery.

“At the time, we thought [the 46-year-old’s injuries] were non-life threatening,” Indiana State Police Trooper Kylen Compton told The Evansville Courier-Press.  He was talking and everything at the scene. But I just left Deaconess Hospital, and he was rushed off to surgery for what they told me were critical injuries.”

As of Monday afternoon the man remained in critical condition.

A fourth passenger in the truck was uninjured. No one wore seatbelts in this crash.

Read more.

If you or someone you know has been involved in an Indiana injury or accident, the Indiana lawyers at Woods and Woods can help.

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11
Oct

Dump Truck Hits Stalled Van, Killing 3 from Southern Indiana

October 11, 2011

A mother, daughter, and good Samaritan all died in southwestern Indiana on Monday when a Mack dump truck crashed into them on Indiana 58.

The Indianapolis Star reports that the tragedy occurred after a 39-year-old driver from Odon, Indiana, ran out of gas for her minivan while traveling on Indiana 58, about 70 miles from Evansville, Indiana. Her car remained partially on the road.

The woman’s 56-year-old mother, also from Odon, stopped to help her daughter, leaving her minivan partially in the road as well. At the same time a 74-year-old man from Elnora, Indiana, who lived nearby was approaching on foot with a can of gasoline — apparently intending to help the stranded motorist.

Then came the Mack dump truck, driven by a 49-year-old male form Bloomington. The dump struck the 39-year-old woman and 74-year-old man, who were outside the vehicles, and the 56-year-old woman, who was inside her minivan. All three died at the scene.

The crash closed Indiana 58 for six hours.

Read more.

If you or someone you know has been involved in an Indiana injury or accident, the Indiana lawyers at Woods and Woods can help.

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5
Oct

Driver Indicted for Murder in Death of Henderson, KY, Newspaper Carrier

October 5, 2011

A 21-year-old male from Henderson, Kentucky, has been indicted in the death of an elderly local newspaper carrier. A Henderson County grand jury doled out the murder accusation—as well as indicting the man on a driving under the influence charge—on Tuesday despite an original charge of reckless homicide.

This was the young man’s second driving under the influence offense, reports The Evansville Courier & Press.

The fatal accident occurred around 3 a.m. on July 24 when the male struck a 70-year-old female newspaper carrier—a Henderson resident who was delivering The Gleaner—on Kentucky 351 between St. Olaf Circle and Bishop Lane.

The male, then aged 20, was reportedly headed east on Zion Road/Kentucky 351 when he came over a hill and started down it, plowing through two mailboxes before hitting the the mail carrier’s truck head-on. Her truck had been parked in the eastbound lane headed west for the purpose of delivering newspapers.

The male driver’s blood alcohol content was found to be at 0.142–which is nearly double the legal limit for driving in Kentucky. He was uninjured in the accident.

Read more.

If you or someone you know has been involved in an Indiana injury or accident, the Indiana lawyers at Woods and Woods can help.

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29
Sep

Indiana Stage Collapse Lawsuit Tests Legal Benefits of Same-Sex Union

September 29, 2011

The tragic collapse of a stage in Indianapolis, Indiana, last month continues to create additional messes.

Among them: A Chicago woman whose legal partner died in the stage collapse filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking damages earlier this week.

The Illinois couple made their relationship official this past summer, reports The Chicago Tribune, and the surviving partner’s lawsuit will test the legal benefits of that law in the neighboring state of Indiana.

“The lawsuit highlights a new wrinkle caused by the patchwork of laws on the rights of gay and lesbian couples to marry or form civil unions,” writes The Tribune.

The woman’s attorney told The Tribune, “It’s egregious that in Illinois, and other states, your union is recognized and you are treated with some measure of equality. And you travel across the border and become a nonperson.”

TheIndyChannel.com reports that 45 tort claims have been filed thus far in connection with the horrific stage collapse, which killed five people and injured dozens more just prior to what was to have been a Sugarland concert at the Indiana State Fairground on August 13.

Officials have capped the maximum liability at $5 million per event or $700,000 per person—figures that are drawing complaint from many victims and their lawyers. One attorney filed a lawsuit against the state this week, alleging that the $5 million dollar cap violates both the U.S. and Indiana state constitution.

Read more.

If you or someone you know has been involved in an Indiana injury or accident, the Indiana lawyers at Woods and Woods can help.

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20
Sep

Are Indiana’s Bridges Wearing Out?

September 20, 2011

Hundreds of Indiana’s bridges may be wearing out, reports The Indianapolis Star. This chatter follows the closing of the six-lane Interstate 64 bridge that carries 80,000 cars a day between Southern Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky.

Governor Mitch Daniels ordered the bridge closed after cracks were found in two of the bridge’s support beams. In the meantime, drivers have endured hours of back-to-back traffic as they turn to the I-65 bridge instead.

The Star says, “The closing [of the I-64 bridge] does raise one question that could resonate across the state: How many other Indiana bridges are below standard, and how much will it cost to fix them?”

Indiana currently has 469 state-maintained bridges that the Federal Highway Administration deems structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. This doesn’t taken into account the thousands of other bridges owned by counties, cities, and towns.

“Today, one out of every nine bridges that motorists in Indiana cross each day are likely to be deteriorating to some degree,” according to a bridge condition study done recently by Transportation for America.

So what’s the hold-up on mending Indiana’s bridges? Money.

The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that it would take $3.5 billion to repair or replace all of Indiana’s deteriorating bridges.

Read more.

If you or someone you know has been involved in an Indiana injury or accident, the Indiana lawyers at Woods and Woods can help.

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15
Sep

Off-Duty Officer Had Been Drinking Before Dying in Indiana Crash

September 15, 2011

An off-duty police officer in Indiana died in a head-on collision this week, and police now say that he had been drinking prior the accident that killed him and injured a young woman.

The crash occurred Sunday, September 11, when the 41-year-old off-duty officer from Fairmount crossed the center line on County Road 950 East near State Road 26. His Chevrolet Camaro promptly collided with a vehicle driven by a 24-year-old female from Marion.

The officer, who was not wearing his seatbelt, was ejected from his Camaro.

The female driver suffered a serious head injury and broken bones, reports TheIndyChannel.com. She is said to be fighting for her life.

Though toxicology reports won’t return for several weeks yet, Grant County Coroner Roger Eib says that the officer had been drinking though he’s not sure how much.

“You could smell it,” said Eib. “When you have bleeding, you can smell the alcohol in the blood, smell it on the body.”

Fellow deputies had reportedly tried to take the officer’s keys from him at a Gas City gathering where he had been drinking four miles from the accident site.

“Had [the officer] have been seat belted in, he may have survived, but I can’t say that for sure,” said Eib. “A lot of his injuries were caused by him being ejected.”

Read more.

If you or someone you know has been involved in an Indiana injury or accident, the Indiana lawyers at Woods and Woods can help.

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5
Sep

What Is a ‘Slip and Fall’ Case?

September 5, 2011

A “slip and fall” or “premises liability” case involves injuries received while on someone else’s property—the idea being that property owners and businesses have a duty to maintain a safe property for customers, pedestrians, and other visitors and to warn them of possible dangers.

These types of cases most often involve slip and fall accidents, which is defined as when a defective condition, foreign substance, or object causes a fall.

Here are just a few examples of premises liability:

  • Slip-and-falls caused by slippery floors or standing water, ice, or snow
  • Trip-and-falls caused by damaged or uneven walkways, slippery stairs, or poor upkeep
  • Inadequate security (lights, surveillance) resulting in a preventable assault by a third party
  • Construction site injuries, particularly those involving persons other than workers
  • Pool drownings
  • Falling trees
  • Products falling off of shelves at a store

In order to prevail in a premises liability case, you must prove negligence, but that can be difficult because property owners will often make quick repairs before you are able to file a claim. For this reason, it’s important to take pictures of the accident scene and your injuries. Also, get the names and addresses of any eyewitnesses.

Read more about Indiana slip and fall cases.

If you or someone you know has been involved in an Indiana injury or accident, the Indiana lawyers at Woods and Woods can help.

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