Residential construction falls account for approximately 29 percent of all construction fall fatalities. Furthermore, Falls from roofs account for 35% of fatalities.

The Fall Protection Standard was recently updated to include more fall protection measures. Now, employers engaged in residential construction six feet or more above lower levels must utilize fall protection measures. This standard requires employers to have a written fall protection plan that must be site specific. A safety monitoring system is now also a requirement.

These new protection standards are important in making work sites safe. At Tabor Law Firm we hope that this recent update will help prevent work site fatalities in the future.

In December, the US Department of Transportation issued long overdue overhauls of rules that are supposed to make sure both pilots and commercial truck drivers are well rested. But are these rules doing enough?

Under old FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) rules, pilots were allowed to work 16-hour days- that leaves only 8 hours for pilots to then commute back home or to a hotel, eat, shower, sleep and then return to work. New rules now require that pilots have at least 10 hours off between shifts, which includes 8 hours for uninterrupted sleep. Furthermore, pilots can now only be on duty for 14 hours a day.

However, these new rules don’t take effect until January 2014. These new rules still won’t solve the problem of fatigued drivers. Many pilots have long commutes to and from work, thus 10 hours between shifts still does not allow for enough sleep for a pilot to get rested before returning to work. The NTSB (National Transportation Security Board) is hoping to get a handle on the problem by additionally requiring airlines to keep records of which pilots commute and from where.

As for trucking, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued new rules offering some new advances including a shorter workweek, and a required 30-minute rest break after eight hours on duty. However, truck drivers are still allowed to drive up to 11 hours a day- even though studies have shown that performance begins to degrade after the 8th hour on duty and declines geometrically during the 10th and 11th hours. (source: USAToday.com)

Although steps were made to prevent over-fatigued pilots & truck drivers from getting behind the wheel, we wonder, is it enough to protect public safety?

Their recommendation followed a hearing on a crash that happened on a Missouri highway on August 5th, 2010, which killed two people and injured 38. The chain reaction crash involving four vehicles, including two school busses, resulted from a teen driver texting behind the wheel. In the 11 minutes before the crash, the teen sent 11 different text messages. It was unclear whether the crash was a result of him sending, receiving or viewing a text, but the clear cause of the accident was distracted driving from the use of a cell phone.

The NTSB is now urging all states to ban any use of a hand held phone while behind the wheel. This recommendation is expected to spur debate amongst lawmakers, but the NTSB stands strong. The use of cell phones while driving is becoming increasingly dangerous.

USA Today has also reported that Indiana was one of five states with the highest increase in road fatalities from 2009 to 2010 following a recent NTSB study. In 2009 there were 693 fatalities on our roadways, while in 2010 we had 754. (source: ntsb.gov)

Tabor Law Firm has handled numerous cases involving fatalities on Indiana roadways, and recently represented a Kosciusko County sheriff who was killed when a distracted truck driver crossed the centerline on State Road 14 due to distracted driving. Investigation suggested that the truck driver was using his cell phone just prior to the accident.

Tabor Law Firm knows the dangers of becoming distracted by a cell phone while driving, and has experienced them first hand. We urge you to be carful on the roadways, and hope you will stress the importance of not using a cell phone while driving to your teenagers this holiday season.

We hope you never need us, but if you do, we’re here for you.

New bicycle lanes also create additional dangers for those biking along these busy streets. Sharing the road with unaware drivers has proven in the past very dangerous for bicyclists. Most recently, Tabor Law represented Brian Brackemyer, who was struck while riding his bike southbound on Brookschool Road when a minivan headed north on Brookschool Road failed to yield the right away while turning left onto East 116th street. As a result of the collision, Mr. Brackemyer sustained serious injuries to his hip, knee, arm and shoulder.

Although the addition of more trails and bicycle lanes is a great step towards a healthier Indiana, Tabor Law urges those using these new trails and bicycle lanes to use extreme caution. Many Indiana motorists are unaware of these added lanes and the precautions necessary to protect themselves and bicyclists on the roads.

If you or someone you know has been injured while riding your bicycle, contact Tabor Law Firm for additional information. We hope you never need us, but if you do, we’re here for you.

This accident serves as a wake up call for Hoosiers preparing to hit the roads for Thanksgiving travel. The increased road traffic during the holiday season creates increased dangers for drivers. With all the holiday gatherings and parties, many adults will be indulging in a glass of wine, or two. Tabor Law urges you to be safe while traveling this holiday season. Keep an eye out for impaired and dangerous drivers, make sure to always have a designated driver, and slow down when there’s moisture on the roads. Remember, although you may be driving safe, not everyone may be as cautious.

Stay safe, and have a happy Thanksgiving.

ICLEF brings hundreds attorneys together each year to provide continued education and law updates to Indiana attorneys on a variety of topics of interest to lawyers.

Tabor Law enjoys conferring with attorneys around the state and stands ready to serve as co counsel on cases. For more information on Roy serving as co counsel on your client’s case, call 1.800.266.7103.

For more information on this event, visit ICLEF.org It’s not too late to register and attend!

Dudley v. Towne Air Freight

Indiana State Police Lieutenant Gary Dudley helped coordinate and annually participated in a charity bicycle ride around the state of Indiana to benefit C.O.P.S. (“Concerns of Police Survivors”), an organization that provides support to families of officers who are killed in the line of duty. In 2006, Gary was riding his bicycle in the charity ride with a group of other police officers southbound on State Road 63 in Vermillion County when the riders’ support motor vehicle was rear-ended by a truck being driven by an employee of Degendant Towne Air Freight. As the truck collided with the support motor vehicle, both vehicles were propelled forward and Gary was struck and killed. Tabor Law Firm successfully represented Gary’s wife, Carolyn, in an action for his wrongful death. Our investigation revealed evidence that the Defendant driver failed to keep a proper lookout, was speeding, and was following too closely before he hit Gary.

Recently, insurance companies such as Progressive and State Farm have created programs that place monitoring devices inside of driver’s cars in exchange for reduced rates for “safe” drivers. Progressive offers a “Snapshot” program that requires drivers to keep a monitoring device plugged into their cars for no more than six months. State Farm also offers a highly intrusive “Drive safe with In-Drive” program that requires that the device stay in your car as long as you want the discount. Safe driving is based on a number of factors: how often you drive, driving speed, speed at which you take turns, how fast you break, how fast you accelerate, ect. Sounds like a deal right?

This is where we urge consumers to steer clear- pun intended- of these devices.  Although this may seem like a great deal, there are many outside factors contributing to how you drive that could affect your rates.

Say for example, you’re driving home from work when someone runs a red light, and you have to slam on your breaks and swerve to avoid being hit. The insurance’s monitoring device will pick up and record that you slammed on your breaks and swerved, but won’t know WHY it was that you swerved. So you may end up with higher rates even if you were swerving to potentially save your life.

What’s even scarier about these programs is the lack of restrictions on how this data can be shared, stored, and used by the insurance company. These monitoring devices are a threat to consumer’s privacy. Companies like Progressive and State Farm continue to encroach on consumer’s privacy, and sadly, most of the time it’s unknown to the consumer.

Additionally, there have been reports of data collected by these devices being used against drivers in court. So beware, because the data collected by these devices can be used in claims disputes by the insurer and others against you.

With that being said, we urge you to think about the ramifications of installing one of these devices in your car.  Don’t let the insurance companies “drive” with you.

The FDA is also now warning doctors and patients about the placement of surgical mesh (transvaginal mesh/bladder sling) through the vagina to treat pelvic organ prolapse or incontinence may present a greater risk to the patient than other types of treatment. The FDA has reported multiple complications with surgical mesh, and has now issued a warning to doctors.

Metal-on-Metal hip replacement parts have been ordered into review as well by the FDA due to problems including: loosening, fracturing, and dislocating of the device.

Actos, a drug usually prescribed to treat Type 2 diabetes, now has a new label mandated by the FDA stating that using the drop for more than one year may be associated with increased risk of bladder cancer. Following these findings, France & German heath officials have now banned Actos.

These are just several recent findings from the FDA which have led to lawsuits across the country. If you or a loved one have experienced difficulty with any of the treatments mentioned above, contact Tabor for a free consultation.

Stay up to date with recent FDA warnings by visiting: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/default.htm