Tag Archives: car crash

Indiana Injury Lawyer – SFT is Here to Help

Indiana Injury Lawyer

SFT Lawyers have a combined Indiana injury lawyer experience of over fifty (50) years. We have helped many individuals get compensated for the money, time, pain, suffering, and hassle that an injury can cost. Not everyone wants to hire an Indiana injury lawyer. However, because insurance companies often undervalue claims, hiring an experienced Indiana injury lawyer is absolutely necessary for getting you the compensation you truly deserve for your Indiana injury.

Indiana injury lawyer

Hiring an Indiana Injury Lawyer Does Not Mean You Are Greedy

Indiana injury lawyer s help people in need. Often times, people who are in need are afraid to sue others for their injuries because they feel a certain sense of guilt in pursuing the maximum recovery for their injuries. They often share with us that they feel guilty because they shouldn’t profit on an injury. For a variety of reasons, however, people can’t “profit” on their injuries. An Indiana injury lawyer can only help you to recover in such a way that you are aptly compensated for your loss.

Indiana injury compensation is based upon a few factors.  First, as a starting point, the value an Indiana injury lawyer will estimate on a given case begins with  the amount you have paid out for medical bills. Being compensated for money you have already paid and shouldn’t have had to seems like common sense, right?

In addition, an Indiana injury lawyer understands that you have been forced to suffer in other ways. Think of all of the pain and hardship this injury has caused you. Think about how much time you have missed from work. Think of all of the time and effort you have had to spend to make trips to and from seek treatment from doctors and physical therapists. Think about your life if this injury had not occurred. The purpose of an Indiana injury lawyer is to attempt to compensate you for this. This is not a profit, and you are not greedy for wanting to make yourself whole following an injury.

Finally, after doctors have provided all of the medical treatment they can provide, you may still be left with a permanent injury. Whoever caused your injury (or that person’s insurance company) should have to pay to compensate you for the difference between your life before the injury and now. If you are left with a permanent condition, money cannot possibly compensate you for your loss. However, in lieu of your actual loss, you should recover something in an attempt to make your life what it would have been if you had not been injured. You would not have a lawsuit if your injury wasn’t someone else’s fault. By definition then, you shouldn’t morally have to pay for  your own injury caused by someone else. You shouldn’t feel guilty hiring an Indiana injury lawyer.

You Don’t Have to Pay for an Indiana Injury Lawyer Out of Your Own Pocket

Lawyers are expensive. It takes a lot of work (and often expense and debt) to become a lawyer and to maintain a practice. It is a daunting and anxious task to hire a lawyer you can afford. BUT- an SFT Indiana injury lawyer will not charge you up front for representation. An SFT Indiana injury lawyer will only charge you for his or her services if you recover money. This is called a “contingency fee arrangement”. The Indiana injury lawyer makes nothing if you aren’t successful. The Indiana injury lawyer invests his or her time, money, and energy in pursuing your claim and getting it through the court system.  This can often consume one hundred (100) hours or more of the Indiana injury lawyer ‘s time, and the Indiana injury lawyer does this without sending you a bill. If and when a settlement or verdict comes in, the Indiana injury lawyer takes his or her fee as a percentage from the final amount recovered.

Hiring an Indiana injury lawyer is essential for maximizing your case against an insurance company. In nearly all cases, the injured person is much better off even after the lawyer receives part of the fee. An Indiana injury lawyer ‘s job is to make sure that you are compensated to the fullest extent that the law allows. You will not be billed for the Indiana injury lawyer ‘s time for putting the case together.

Not All Indiana Injury Lawyers Are the Same

First of all, not all lawyers are the same. Each lawyer is a person first. We have different personalities, and different approaches. Similarly, Indiana injury lawyer s are not the same. We each have differing levels of experience, knowledge and skill. We each have different practice areas. Some Indiana injury lawyer s focus on one area, and others concentrate on a few areas within the law. When you are injured, it is common to have four or more insurance policies involved, so you need an Indiana injury lawyer who understands every type of policy and has experience in all types of insurance. We at SFT Lawyers have lawyers in almost every area of the law, and we are a full service law firm with decades of knowledge and experience with all types of insurance. We have over fifty (50) years of combined personal injury experience. We are eager to assist you in pursuing your injury case. CALL TODAY for a FREE CONSULTATION. (219) 841-5683.

New Indiana Traffic Law – ‘Move Over’ Indiana!

New Indiana Traffic Law - I65In a surprising last minute measure, the Indiana General Assembly recently passed a new Indiana traffic law requiring drivers to allow faster drivers to pass in the left lane by requiring that slower drivers move into the right lane when not passing.  (See,  IndyStar, “New Indiana law Requires Slower Drivers to Move into Right Lane,” 26 May 2015; NWI Times,  New Indiana Law: Move Over, Slowpokes,” 23 May 2015.) Failure of Indiana drivers to follow the expression “stay right except to pass” will now be punishable by a fine of up to $500 and could result in points on the offender’s license under the new Indiana traffic law.

This new Indiana traffic law has created great controversy, as between prospective fast-laners and slower drivers.  (See, Lafayette Journal & Courier, “Indiana’s move-it-on-over law going too far?” 30 May 2015.)

The new Indiana traffic law reads as follows: (Full text version here)

SECTION 67. IC 9-21-5-7 IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2015]: Sec. 7.(a) A person may not drive a motor vehicle at a slow speed that impedes or blocks the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with the law. A person who is driving:

                 (1) on a roadway that has not more than one (1) lane of traffic in each direction; and

            (2) at a slow speed so that three (3) or more other vehicles are blocked and cannot pass on the left around the vehicle; shall give right-of-way to the other vehicles by pulling off to the right of the right lane at the earliest reasonable opportunity and allowing the blocked vehicles to pass.

   (b) A person who fails to give right-of-way as required by subsection (a) commits a Class C infraction.

SECTION 69. IC 9-21-5-9 IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2015]: Sec. 9. (a) A vehicle that travels at a speed less than the established maximum shall travel in the right lanes to provide for better flow of traffic on the interstate highways.

   (b) This subsection applies to the operation of a vehicle:

                 (1) on a roadway that has two (2) or more lanes of traffic in each direction; and

                      (2) in the left most lane, other than a lane designated for high occupancy vehicles. Except as provided in subsection (c), a person who knows, or should reasonably know, that another vehicle is overtaking from the rear the vehicle that the person is operating may not continue to operate the vehicle in the left most lane.

   (c) Subsection (b) does not apply:

          (1) when traffic conditions or congestion make it necessary to operate a vehicle in the left most lane;

                    (2) when inclement weather, obstructions, or hazards make it necessary to operate a vehicle in the left most lane;

         (3) when compliance with a law, a regulation, an ordinance, or a traffic control device makes it necessary to operate a vehicle in the left most lane;

                    (4) when exiting a roadway or turning to the left;

             (5) when paying a toll or user fee at a toll collection facility;

                  (6) to an authorized emergency vehicle operated in the course of duty; or

               (7) to vehicles operated or used in the course of highway maintenance or construction.

   (d) A person who violates this section commits a Class C infraction.

House Enrolled Act 1305 (Passed, 5/5/2015, Eff. 7/1/2015).

How Are Police Going to Enforce the New Indiana Traffic Law?

Basically, what this new Indiana traffic law seeks to do is to codify into law what has been the driving custom for decades.  The most interesting aspect of the new Indiana traffic law is the enforcement of such a new Indiana traffic law. For instance, will police enforce the new Indiana traffic law against slow moving motorists who are hanging out in the left hand lane or will they opt instead to ticket the motorist who is quickly approaching the slow mover at a high rate of speed? Or, perhaps, the police will ticket both motorists?

Accidents and the New Indiana Traffic Law

Another troubling concept with this new Indiana traffic law is what is known as “negligence per se”. When a person is cited with a traffic citation at the scene of a motor vehicle accident or car crash, it can automatically shift who is responsible for causing the car crash and any Indiana personal injury that results.  If a person is cited for failing to move over to allow faster drivers to pass under the new Indiana traffic law, it could change who legally caused the accident.

What Do You Think about the New Indiana Traffic Law, Indiana?

What do you think about the new Indiana traffic law? Are you constantly frustrated with slow drivers blocking the left lane? Are you worried that this law might encourage speeding and make the roadways more dangerous?  Tell us your thoughts by leaving comments below.

Need a Traffic Lawyer Who Understands the New Indiana Traffic Law?

SFT Lawyers have Lake County traffic lawyers and Porter County traffic lawyers experienced in resolving all traffic matters, restoring driving privileges, eliminating points on your driving record, and getting specialized driving privileges for those with suspended driver’s licenses.  CALL TODAY for a FREE CONSULTATION!  (219) 841-5683.