Brownsburg, Indiana, Personal Injury Blog

Bar and nightclub premises liability: What patrons should know

On behalf of Boulton Law Group, LLC on Friday, September 14, 2018.

The Indianapolis area is diverse with many business, retail and restaurant establishments. Many residents and tourists frequent the local stores, diners, nightclubs and bars. If you plan to meet up with a few colleagues at a local bar to catch up on old times, you may want to set a one or two drink minimum, implore your friends to stay on their best behavior and choose a location that is safe.

Many bar patrons do not realize how many drinks it takes for them to have an over-the-limit BAC or show signs of inebriation. Even if individuals have one drink and believe they are fine, there is still the possibility of them hurting themselves or someone else or damaging property. There is also the possibility of a fight breaking out in the bar and someone ending up with fractured ribs, a broken nose or a mild concussion as well as a premises liability claim.

Motorcycle study reveals the importance of wearing a helmet

On behalf of Boulton Law Group, LLC posted in motorcycle accidents on Wednesday, September 12, 2018.

If you ever come close to thinking it's not a big deal to drive your motorcycle to the corner store without wearing a helmet – or worse – going for an actual ride through the country or the city without a helmet, think again. The results of a 2016 study show just how important wearing a motorcycle helmet is for safety purposes.

The study reviewed the records from 73,769 motorcycle crashes. Thirty-eight percent of these records were from states with partial motorcycle helmet laws (where only part of the riding population must wear a helmet) and 62 percent of the records were from states with universal motorcycle helmet laws (where all of the riding population needs to wear a helmet).

How do I escape an angry dog without getting bitten?

On behalf of Boulton Law Group, LLC posted in catastrophic injuries on Friday, September 7, 2018.

It doesn't matter if you're a dog lover or not, if you're facing off with a big, growling and angry canine, you're probably going to be terrified. You'll also want to know how to get out of the situation without getting seriously hurt -- or even killed -- by the animal.

Fortunately, you don't always have to be a "dog whisperer" to calm an angry pet. Even if you can't make the dog your "best friend," with the following tricks, you just might escape the animal unharmed.

The most common symptoms of concussion and traumatic brain injury

On behalf of Boulton Law Group, LLC posted in catastrophic injuries on Tuesday, August 28, 2018.

A concussion is the mildest form of traumatic brain injury (TBI), and they are not the easiest medical condition for doctors to diagnose -- especially if an accident victim is suffering from multiple and serious injuries. For example, when a car accident victim shows up in an emergency room with a fractured spine, broken ribs and a heavily bleeding wound, doctors and surgeons will likely tend to the more visible and pressing injuries first.

At a later time, when the patient complains of various symptoms pertaining to a concussion or brain injury, doctors may discover a previously-undetected concussion or brain injury. Here are several of the most important signs and symptoms of concussion that doctors need to watch out for after a serious accident:

Headaches and head pressure
The loss of temporary consciousness
Feeling foggy-headed
Amnesia or loss of memory of the actual accident
Seeing stars
Feeling dizzy
A ringing sound in the ears
Vomiting or feelings of nausea
Slurring speech
Delayed responses to questioning
Feeling like one is dazed
Unusual levels of fatigue
Concentration difficulties and memory challenges
Personality changes
Feeling emotional or depressive
Trouble sleeping
Tasting and smelling challenges

3 types of potentially fatal medication errors

On behalf of Boulton Law Group, LLC posted in wrongful death on Friday, August 24, 2018.

Doctors, nurses and medical personnel must take great care to safeguard the health and safety of patients when prescribing and administering pharmaceutical drugs. Whether the drugs are ingested by the patient via pill, patch, liquid or injection, safety needs to be the number one priority to avoid the potentially fatal consequences associated with medication mix-ups, errors and mistakes.

Here are three types of potentially fatal medication errors that happen to patients more commonly than anyone would like to admit:

Was your teenager in a crash with another who was speeding?

On behalf of Boulton Law Group, LLC on Friday, August 17, 2018.

A feeling of invincibility plays a big part in the risks teenage drivers take, and one of those risks is speeding. If your teenage daughter was in a collision with another teen who was exceeding the speed limit at the time of the crash, she might have been left with serious injuries.

Accidents in Indiana

5 common reasons for motorcycle crashes

On behalf of Boulton Law Group, LLC posted in motorcycle accidents on Sunday, August 12, 2018.

All motorcyclists know that they are risking life and limb with each motorcycle ride. However, the enjoyment factor is enough to keep them coming back for more. Furthermore, with proper attention to detail, training and good defensive riding techniques, the vast majority of accident situations can be avoided. Furthermore, one thing that helps motorcyclists avoid different types of crashes is to understand the types of "danger scenarios" they might face so that they can watch out for them and avoid them.

Here are five common motorcycle accident scenarios to avoid:

The left-turning car: Motorcyclists need to be on constant alert for left-turning vehicles that don't see them and could cross the road in front of their path.
A slippery patch of gravel or sand: Especially when cornering, these things, as well as leaves, ice or oil could send a motorcycle sliding out of control.
Taking a corner too fast: Bikers should enter corners carefully as they don't know what lies beyond them. They should slow down cautiously before the turn, and only speed up when they can clearly see ahead of them.
The lane-changing vehicle: Cars don't always see motorcyclists in their blind spots which could cause them to drive right into a biker when changing lanes. Always be aware of a motorist's potential blind spots.
The rear-end crash: Motorcyclists are vulnerable in rear-end crashes, so they may not want to wait idly in an intersection without a car behind them. Stopping on the side of the road is one way to stay out of the way of cellphone-distracted drivers.

How do I measure the value of a wrongful death case?

On behalf of Boulton Law Group, LLC posted in wrongful death on Friday, August 10, 2018.

There's no amount of money -- and no amount of litigation -- that will ever replace a loved one lost because of a negligent or unlawfully-acting party. However, Indiana courts do seek to compensate close family members financially in a successfully-navigated wrongful death action because, unfortunately, it's the only way to approach some semblance of justice.

That said, measuring the value of a particular wrongful death case is not the most straightforward undertaking. Here are several key valuation factors that courts will look at:

Does the deceased have a surviving spouse, child or parent? Not all wrongful death losses are calculable. Some involve loss of affection, loss of marital benefits and more.
What was the individual's role in the family? Did the deceased individual contribute to the family by performing various household and child care services? These services may have a value that can be calculated and claimed as damages.
The income and potential future income of the deceased: A deceased person who was employed at the time of death had a specific income that family members may have benefited from. In addition, it may be possible to predict the future income the individual may have been able to earn through the course of his or her career. By estimating current and future income, plaintiffs in a wrongful death suit can claim this lost family income as well as lost future inheritance.
The age and health condition of the deceased: Knowing the age and health condition of someone will be important for estimating the future income generating capacity of the person.

Don’t become the victim of a hit-and-run driver

On behalf of Boulton Law Group, LLC posted in car accidents on Thursday, August 2, 2018.

As soon as a serious or fatal motor vehicle accident occurs, police will set to work investigating what happened to try and assign fault. Assigning fault allows police to hold the responsible driver criminally accountable. If the at-fault driver broke specific laws or engaged in reckless or negligent driving in the moments leading up to the collision, the driver could face stiff criminal punishments, including jail time.

In addition to criminal accountability, however, at-fault drivers will also have to answer to their victims – usually in civil court proceedings. Those who cause motor vehicle accidents will usually be financially liable to their victims to pay for the costs associated with medical care, lost income, pain and suffering and a wide variety of other types of damages stemming from the collision.

Ford recalls hundreds of thousands of cars due to rollaway risks

On behalf of Boulton Law Group, LLC posted in car accidents on Friday, July 27, 2018.

Indiana consumers have the right to expect that the manufactured goods they purchase are safe and free of dangerous defects. Even though consumer product laws require manufacturers to design and produce safe products, manufacturers are still prone to making potentially-fatal errors and other mistakes. Take the recent recall that Ford Motor Co. announced, for example. A potentially-fatal defect relating to approximately 550,000 Ford Escapes and Ford Fusions in North America makes the vehicles prone to rolling away after they're parked.

According to Ford, no serious accidents or injuries have thus far been caused by the defect, which relates to a bushing that connects the shift cable on affected cars -- specifically 2013 to 2016 model year Fusions and 2013 to 2014 model year Escapes. Drivers of these vehicles could put them into park, expecting them to remain stationary, but because of the shift cable problem, they could come out of park and roll away. If such a rollaway event were to happen after the driver exited the vehicle, passersby and passing motorists could be in danger of fatal and serious injuries.