Personal Injury Primer

Injured in a Stampede by a Crowd https://personalinjuryprimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ep-358-Injured-in-a-Stampede-by-a-Crowd.mp3 I’m David Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana. Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics. Occasionally, you hear in the news about a person injured in a stampede at a festival, parade, sporting event, theme park, or shopping sale. Anytime there is a crowd of people, there is a potential for someone to be hurt by the crowd’s actions, such as being knocked down and crushed or suffocated during a stampede or even being lifted up and propelled in the air by crowd-goers. When festivals, concerts, and other events that draw crowds are put on, the event organizer typically employs crowd control plans developed ahead of time to ensure everyone has a safe experience. Crowd control involves much more than just having a security team on the ground watching for disorderly or violent conduct. It includes things like erecting barriers to keep people out of certain areas, having enough emergency exits, and proactively monitoring crowd dynamics and movement to ensure the density of people in one space does not get to such high levels that it becomes dangerous. When a person is injured by a crowd surge or stampede, the event organizer can be held liable for failing to adequately control the crowd or failing to have appropriate safety measures in place to ensure the safety of all attendees. Let’s suppose a woman takes her child to an amusement park on a summer weekend when the park is having a deeply discounted day. There are special booths set up with all kinds of prizes. Many people are crowding into the park for the day and flocking to a particular section of the park where word got out that workers are giving away freebies that everyone seems to want.  Suddenly, the woman finds herself separated from her child in the mass of people. She stops and looks around her to see where the child might be, but in stopping to look, she’s knocked to the ground by the excited people behind her who are anxiously trying to get to the freebies. Once on the ground, she suffers severe injuries from the crowd surging over her. Suppose still, that the child looks around and sees this all happening to his mother. In this situation, the amusement park can likely be held liable for the woman’s injuries and the child’s emotional distress caused by witnessing this happen to his mother. As part of a case investigation, the woman and child’s lawyer might learn that the park did not train its employees in crowd management. Or perhaps the park did not have enough of its trained workers actually on duty watching over the crowd of people. There are numerous negligent actions or inactions on the part of the park that an attorney may uncover in working on such a case. I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”The post Ep 358 Injured in a Stampede by a Crowd first appeared on Personal Injury Primer.

Choosing the Right Auto Insurance Coverage https://personalinjuryprimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ep-357-Choosing-the-Right-Auto-Insurance-Coverage.mp3 I’m Katelyn Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana. Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics. Quite often, when we conclude a case with a client and hand them their check, the client will ask, “Should I make any changes to my car insurance?” The right way to look at car insurance is to see it as providing financial protection if you are unfortunate and end up in a motor vehicle collision. Injury bills and vehicle repair costs can quickly mount up. Most car insurance carriers offer a variety of coverage choices, including: Liability coverage — If you cause a collision, liability coverage will pay any judgment obtained against you by the injured party up to your coverage limit. Collision coverage — If your vehicle is damaged in a collision, this coverage benefit will reimburse you for the cost of repairing or replacing it up to your coverage limit. Comprehensive coverage — Protects a vehicle owner’s losses due to vandalism, hail, and other similar events up to the coverage limit. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage — Will pay towards the cost of medical treatment to passengers injured in a collision, regardless of fault, up to the coverage limit. Medical Payments (Med-Pay) coverage  — Will pay for medical treatment costs that any insured incurs as a result of the crash, up to the coverage limit. Uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UI or UIM) coverage — Will pay for damages insureds sustain in a collision (including medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering) caused by another driver who has no liability insurance or low limits liability insurance, up to the coverage limit. Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) coverage —Will pay the difference between a vehicle’s actual cash value and the outstanding loan amount owed on the vehicle up to the coverage limit. A common mistake people make in Indiana is buying car insurance that provides just the bare minimum coverage and not choosing a policy with enough UIM coverage to protect them should they be in a crash with another driver who has little or no liability insurance. Although you hope to never need your UIM coverage, it’s important to take time to think about how much coverage you can afford. Since this coverage protects you when others on the highway do not have insurance or have bare minimum levels of liability insurance, it makes sense to have the most coverage you can afford. Additionally, people often fail to recognize that GAP coverage is important when purchasing a vehicle, especially if they’ve been sold a loan that is greater than the value of the vehicle purchased. The minimum amount of liability car insurance coverage you need varies by state. In Indiana, the minimum amount of liability insurance coverage is $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $50,000 for bodily injury or death of two or more people in one accident, and $25,000 for damage or destruction of property in one accident. See Ind. Code § 9-25-4-5. As attorneys who represent people injured in motor vehicle crashes, we recommend getting an insurance policy with the highest coverage levels that you can reasonably afford. I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”The post Ep 357 Choosing the Right Auto Insurance Coverage first appeared on Personal Injury Primer.

Motorcycle Crash Victim Rights https://personalinjuryprimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ep-356-Motorcycle-Crash-Victim-Rights.mp3 I’m David Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana. Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics. Today’s question comes from a caller concerned about obtaining damages for injuries suffered in a motorcycle crash that was not his fault. Motorcycle crash victims have the same right to bring a lawsuit as other motor vehicle accident victims. Motorcyclists, likewise, are entitled to recover for pain and suffering and other economic damages. However, there is an essential difference between motorcycle crash cases and car-to-car or car-to-truck cases. Motorcyclists are more susceptible to injuries due to the lack of protective barriers between them and other vehicles. Because of this, motorcycle accidents often result in severe and permanent injuries, such as broken bones, road rash, traumatic brain injuries, neck and spine injuries, paralysis, and other catastrophic injuries. Like other injury claimants, the motorcyclist must prove the at-fault driver’s negligence and must prove that the crash caused the claimed injuries. The severity and impact of a motorcyclist’s injuries will influence the recovery that can be made in any particular case. Lastly, it is unfortunate, but sometimes, we find that a bias against motorcyclists may exist within the minds of persons called to serve on a jury. Such bias could negatively affect the outcome of a lawsuit. However, a skilled attorney should be able to overcome such a bias. Every motorcycle accident case is unique, and it’s essential to consult with an attorney to determine the best course of action for any situation. Any early consult with an attorney soon after a motorcycle crash will best serve the injured motorcyclist and enable them to protect their interests and obtain the compensation they deserve proactively. I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com. While there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”The post Ep 356 Motorcycle Crash Victim Rights first appeared on Personal Injury Primer.

Can I Sue if Injured in a Train Derailment https://personalinjuryprimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ep-355-Can-I-Sue-if-Injured-in-a-Train-Derailment.mp3 I’m Katelyn Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana. Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics. Today’s question comes from a caller concerned about whether he can sue for an injury he suffered when the Amtrak train he was a passenger on derailed. A railway company has a duty to ensure passenger safety as the train operator. If operator negligence or a breach of safety standards contributed to the derailment, the company may be held liable for injuries sustained. When the train is an Amtrak train, a Federal Tort Claim Act (FTCA) notice must be filed on time since Amtrak is operated under the guidance of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. A timely notice of a claim is a pre-suit requirement for filing a suit. The United States government created Amtrak, which receives significant taxpayer funding. Because it is taxpayer-funded, congress has also granted Amtrak a liability damage cap protection. So yes, the caller may sue if injured or if a family member was injured or killed due to an Amtrak train derailing. If an Amtrak train derails, there may also be other potential wrongdoers to sue besides Amtrak. Frequently, though Amtrak is the name on the train that derailed, other rail companies may own or maintain the tracks that Amtrak trains run on (companies owning tracks include BNSF, CSX, and Union Pacific). If poor track maintenance contributed to a derailment, the rail owner or maintenance provider may also need to be sued. Another issue may impact a lawsuit against Amtrak. Often, Amtrak ticket agreements contain a “forced arbitration clause.” This means that when a passenger buys a ticket, they agree that they will not sue in court and that their claim will be handled by an arbitrator that Amtrak chooses. I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”The post Ep 355 Can I Sue if Injured in a Train Derailment first appeared on Personal Injury Primer.

Car Train Crash Case Trial https://personalinjuryprimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ep-354-Car-Train-Crash-Case-Trial.mp3 I’m David Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana. Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics. Today’s question comes from a caller with questions regarding a car-train crash that took the life of the caller’s relative. Car-train crashes can result in severe injuries and fatalities. In a car-train crash, liability will often be hotly contested by the railroad company. At properly maintained grade crossings, the railroad will contend that its locomotive had the right of way and that the car or truck struck at the crossing failed to yield when it attempted to cross the tracks. Train litigation will require lawyers to be familiar with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) guidelines. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate many such crashes. However, in most cases, private accident reconstruction experts will need to be retained to analyze a crash. Here is a list of the type of conduct important to determining railroad operator negligence: Failing to properly sound the train horn/whistle to warn motorists approaching the crossing. Traveling at an excessive speed unreasonable for conditions and in excess of the speed limit pertaining to the class of tracks. Failing to install or maintain grade crossing warning devices to warn motorists approaching the railroad tracks. Failing to remove foliage obstructing a motorist’s view of a train as the motorist approaches a crossing. Failing to keep and maintain a proper lookout from the locomotive for approaching vehicles. Failing to provide crossing protection sufficient to warn motorists of an approaching train. Violating Indiana law requires each railroad to maintain each public crossing under its control so that the motor vehicle operator will have an unobstructed view of fifteen hundred (1500) feet in both directions along the railroad right-of-way. Violating Indiana law requiring all railroad operators to destroy all vegetation and noxious weeds growing on lands occupied by them that might interfere with a view down the tracks. There are close to ¼ million grade crossing in the USA.  Many drivers each day encounter railway crossings. If you or a loved one is injured in a collision with a train, seek the advice of knowledgeable legal counsel as soon as possible. Most cases of this type will require a trial. I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”The post Ep 354 Car Train Crash Case Trial first appeared on Personal Injury Primer.