William "Bill" Hurst Personal Injury Law Blog

In Indianapolis on March 12, 2012 a bus driver and a 5 year old girl were killed and at least 10  more students injured in a school bus crash in Indianapolis.  There were 50 students on board a bus carrying Lighthouse Charter School students that crashed into a bridge abutment on the way to school.  Two young boys are still in critical condition.  http://www.theindychannel/news/30658347/ detail.html In Chesterton, NJ, on March 13, 2012, drivers involved in a fatal ... Read More

When a driver flees the scene of a car accident without leaving his personal information, a crime has been committed.  The State of Indiana has passed specific legislation that outlines the actions that must be taken after a vehicular accident which makes a hit and run event a crime.  Under Indiana Code  9-26-1-1, any driver involved in an accident resulting in injury, death, or entrapment in a vehicle must stop at the scene immediately (IC9-26-1-1).  The l... Read More

Semi-truck, tractor- trailer and commercial vehicle accidents in the United States continue to rise.  The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety indicates that over 100,000 people sustain serious personal injuries, and over 5,000 people die in these crashes annually.  The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) compiles statistics and reports for truck-driving accidents in the United States and attempts to identify and correct hazards that face truck drivers.  Even insign... Read More

Under IC 9-21-8 et seq, an emergency vehicle is not relieved from the duty to drive with due safety for all persons on the highway nor from the duty to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian.  However, the emergency vehicle does have priority rights on the roadway and requires appropriate care from motorists in the vicinity of the emergency vehicle to react to the presence of the emergency vehicle.  In the even you do not appropriately react bey moving your vehicle over... Read More

The National Sleep Foundation researchers indicate that when one spouse does not fall asleep, it can trigger significantly more negative interactions between spouses the next day. This is particularly true of wives, as it has been found that when husbands sleep poorly there is little difference in how the couples relate.  Researchers suspect that women who have sleep problems are more likely to express stress, be irritable and verbalize those feelings.  According to the research, 42% o... Read More

Distracted drivers cause  most motor vehicle accidents.  Studies show that distracted drivers are a leading cause of motor vehicle accidents.  Whenever you are driving in a motor vehicle and your attention is not on the road, you are putting yourself, your passengers, other vehicles and pedestrians in danger.  In the late 1970’s Indiana University’s “Study of Pre-crash Factors Involved in Traffic Accidents” identified driver inattention as the leading... Read More

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, accounting for more than 1 and 3 deaths in this age group.  In 2009, eight teens ages 16 to19 died everyday from motor vehicle injuries.  For every mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash.... Read More

Its noteworthy that the occupants of the emergency vehicles are at risk for serious injuries.  During a period from 1999 to 2009, police cruisers in the State of Indiana were involved in 166 collisions, resulting in death of 2 troopers and injures to many other operators of vehicles involved.  These collisions often occurred when officers were making traffic stops or working crash sites.  The Indiana Police Data shows that in 2010, a similar number of police cruisers hav... Read More

Neck or cervical injuries often occur when a car is struck from the rear.  The acceleration caused by the collision of the vehicle throws the occupant’s head forward with up to 10 or more times the force of gravity.  The sheer and bending forces on the spine often result in neck injuries, nerve root injuries, and even more serious injuries including herniated discs. ... Read More

Neck or cervical injuries often occur when a car is struck from the rear.  The acceleration caused by the collision of the vehicle throws the occupant’s head forward with up to 10 or more times the force of gravity.  The sheer and bending forces on the spine often result in neck injuries, nerve root injuries, and even more serious injuries including herniated discs. ... Read More