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New Patented Software To Stop Truck Drivers From Violating Fed Rules Against Talking or Texting on CellPhones: Will It Work?

March 13th, 2012 by admin

With the new federal regulations going into effect in 2012 that are fighting against distracted driving of commercial vehicles, it makes sense that products would be developed to help enforce those new federal requirements.

And from a legal take on things, it’s something to help the trucking industry meet its legal duty to keep everyone as safe as possible on the roads that are shared with the huge, heavy big rigs, semis, and tractor trailers that are rolling along at very high speeds.

For example, there are new federal regulations that make it illegal for a commercial truck driver (be it a bus, big rig, delivery van, semi, tractor trailer or other big truck) to use a cell phone with their hands to either talk or text.

No phone should be held by a truck driver moving his vehicle down the road, bottom line.

For more details on these federal regulations, check out our earlier posts and read the Final Rule for Drivers of CMVs: Restricting the Use of Cellular Phones, 49 CFR Parts 177, 383, 384, 390, 391, and 392.

This week, a company named ZoomSafer announced its FleetSafer(R) Mobile safe driving software, proclaming it to be the company’s patented software that offers trucking companies the only distracted driving product that can make sure that drivers are in compliance with the new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) guidelines on hand-held mobile phone use while driving a commercial vehicle.

Will This Keep Truck Drivers From Using Their Cell Phones? The New FleetSafer Mobile with SafeDial(TM)

What they are offering is software that goes onto the truck driver’s smartphone. This new FleetSafer Mobile software will then stop any calls from going out or coming into the phone as well as blocking texts and emails (in or out) as long as the truck is being driven.

“The FMCSA’s ban on hand-held use of mobile phones while driving is an important step forward in solving the serious issue of distracted driving, but the rule provides employers with no guidance on how to foster employee compliance,” said ZoomSafer CEO Matt Howard. “This latest enhancement to our FleetSafer Mobile safe driving software provides corporate fleet operators with a simple, affordable way to promote safe, legal and FMCSA-compliant use of mobile phones while driving.”

Step in the Right Direction But Not a Total Solution

Having commercial truck fleets require their truckers with smartphones to install this software on their smartphones sounds good. It’s definitely a step in the right direction to keep the roads safe. However, the software only applies to smartphones, not all cell phones. This isn’t going to halt all distracted phone use by truck drivers.

Posted in Semi-Truck Crashes, Serious Personal Injury, Transportation, Work Related, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Drunk Driver Kills Delivery Truck Driver, Seriously Injures CTA Bus Driver And Bus Rider; Man Walking On Sidewalk; and Man Driving On Street: What DUI Laws Don’t Do For Victims and Their Families.

February 21st, 2012 by admin

Yesterday afternoon, around three o’clock, everyone was going about their business. An elderly gentleman was driving his Aerostar van down the street. A CTA bus was cruising down its daily route, the bus driver doing his job and bus passengers following their routines. A beer truck stopped to make a delivery; the truck driver jumped out of the truck and began the process of unloading his brew from the truck for delivery.

Then a man named Walter Thompson, 30 years old, drove his Hyandai Santa Fe down West 115th Street and into their lives. Police reports allege that Thompson was intoxicated when he slammed his vehicle into a CTA bus, pinning the beer delivery man between that bus and his vehicle.

Thompson ran from the scene, but police caught up with him on Ashland Avenue. He was taken to the hospital and was last reported in stable condition. The police have arrested Walter Thompson for driving under the influence along with driving with a revoked license, three counts of leaving the scene of an accident, and damaging city property.

He’s facing jail time and monetary fines for all these crimes if convicted. There will be a criminal defense presented, maybe a trial. Maybe a plea deal.

Here’s the point. Those legal fights all deal with criminal law and criminal law is not designed to help those that have been injured or killed in this accident. The criminal law is designed to uphold state law and it does so with loss of freedom (time behind bars) as well as fines.

It is only through personal injury law, not criminal law, that the man who was killed and the four people who were seriously hurt during the drunk driving crash yesterday will find justice.

One drunk driver in Chicago on a Monday afternoon caused a domino-effect of cars crashing into people and other vehicles. All in all, five vehicles were involved as Thompson sped down the street that day.

A senior citizen driving his Ford Aerostar minivan was hit and the force pushed the van into a Pontiac Bonneville. Thompson’s Hyandai Santa Fe came to a stop after it crashed into an CTA bus, setting at the streetside to allow passengers to disembark, and the beer delivery truck that was parked next to the bus so the delivery truck driver could unload a beer delivery.

In the aftermath of this horrific crash, not only was Thompson hurt but:

Charles Kimbrough, the beer delivery truck driver, died at the age of 45, yesterday as he was doing his job.
A senior citizen walking down the sidewalk was seriously injured.
The CTA bus driver was injured and hospitalized, as were one of the bus passengers and the 66 year old driver of the Aerostar van.

Our sincerely condolences go out to the families and friends of these accident victims.

And our respect for the longstanding state laws in place today that exist to help these people. It is because Illinois legislators have passed civil laws that we have the following: wrongful death statutes that are available to the family members of those killed by the acts of another. Workers compensation laws that exist to protect workers who are killed or seriously injured while working on the job. Bad faith insurance laws that exist to protect against evildoing in the assessment and payment of claims based upon insurance policies in major injury cases. Personal injury laws that hold people responsible for their negligence as well as their gross negligence.

Personal injury law is consistently targeted as in need of reform, but it is in times of true tragedy like this that we must all remember: personal injury laws (and personal injury lawyers) are dedicated to helping people who have been injured or killed by the actions of another and this is not only important, this is necessary for justice to prevail. Criminal law does not do this, and it is not designed to do so.

Posted in Auto Accidents, Illinois Wrongful Death, Job Site Injury, Serious Personal Injury, Work Related, Workers’ Compensation, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Indiana OSHA Report Released on State Fair Tragedy: Mid-America Sound Corp. Fined $63,000. It’s Not the End of the Story.

February 9th, 2012 by admin

Kenneth J. Allen has taken claims for his clients to the federal courtroom in the Indiana State Fair tragedy, and in December, U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker approved Ken Allen’s arguments and certified all of the victims of the Indiana State Fair concert as a class that will unite in an argument that the Indiana state cap on the state’s liability at $5 million total goes against the U.S. Constitution and shouldn’t be allowed as a defense from the State of Indiana having to pay monetary damages to those harmed and killed in the Indiana State Fair Tragedy last year.

Right now, Indiana caps the State of Indiana at being liable for $700,000 per victim and having to pay in total of $5 million for all victims. According to the Indiana law, once that $5 million is paid, that’s all that Indiana has to do.

This week, the State of Indiana Department of Labor issued its Safety Order on the Indiana State Fair.

In its report, the state safety agency cited Mid-America Sound Corp. with 3 major safety violations. According to the report, Mid-America Sound Corp. knew of its requirements and was indifferent to making sure that it met them. The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined the company $63,000.

You can read the Indiana OSHA report online here.

You can follow the federal lawsuit challenging the Indiana liability cap as unconstitutional here (by subscription).

What Does This Mean?

As Kenneth J. Allen has explained to the Indianapolis Star, this Indiana OSHA Report may not carry much weight in the ultimate fight for justice here. Not only does the Indiana agency report have a political ribbon running through it, Allen also points out that if it were not for bad calls being made by those at the top (i.e., not the construction workers eyed in the report) then there would have been no tragedy that day. Kenneth J. Allen is doing his own investigation and as he explained to the media, it’s got more involved than this OSHA report.

Posted in Indiana Wrongful Death, Serious Personal Injury, Slip & Falls, Spinal Injuries, Work Related, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Indiana Is Now a Right to Work State: Does This Mean More Workers On the Job Will Be Injured or Killed?

February 7th, 2012 by admin

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has just signed the Indiana “right to work” bill – which means that the legislation will become effective Indiana law now, and that Indiana will be the first state in many, many years to pass right to work laws … and the only state in the midwest to have a right to work law (the “Rust Belt”).

Of course, this was done with the expected hurrah that it will help bring jobs to Indiana. And maybe it will; everyone can agree that more jobs in Indiana is needed. However, it’s also important to consider what this law may do to on the job work safety for Indiana workers.

Will the Right to Work Law Make Jobs Safer for Indiana or Will There Be More Dangers of Death or Serious Injury in the Indiana Workplace?

According to the AFLCIO, without union protections for workers, workplaces are more dangerous. In other words, in right to work states, on the job workers have higher rates of serious personal injury or wrongful death than they have in states where there is not a “right to work” law in place.

Of course, there are others who disagree, who argue that federal laws are enough to keep workers safe on the job.

The reality is that Indiana workers will have to find out for themselves now.

Indiana is a right to work state, that’s a done deal. And the reality is this: for workers hurt on the job in the upcoming years, they will have to look to Indiana worker compensation statutes and federal laws (like FELA for railroad workers) for help – and we can only hope and pray that the number of Indiana workers hurt, injured, or killed while working for a living doesn’t increase all because this law was passed this year.

Posted in Construction Injuries, Electrocution, Equipment and Machine Malfunction, Explosions & Fires, Falls, Indiana Wrongful Death, Job Site Injury, Longshoremen & Maritime, Mill Accidents, Railroad Workers (FELA), Serious Personal Injury, Work Related, Workers’ Compensation, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Faulty Appliances Causing More and More Fires Per New Study by Consumer Reports: More Defective Products in the USA

February 2nd, 2012 by admin

Consumer Reports has just issued the results of its investigation into the safety of commonly used appliances and the news isn’t good: according to Consumer Reports, appliances can start fires just setting there — they may not even be operating when the fire starts — and the cause of the fires all too often are not mistakes made by humans (which the manufacturer is always quick to suggest) but because of a product defect.

Consumer Reports did its usual research including culling through lots of fire data compiled by the federal government, and has found that it’s a 50-50% chance that the defect in the product starts the fire. Not the human.

Scary stuff here: appliances that turn themselves on. Fires popping up from flaws in dishwashers. You can read all the details about the study online in the March 2012 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

8 Things You Can Do To Protect Against Appliance Fires

Meanwhile, Consumer Reports has issued a press release to warn all of us about the real danger of appliance fires and to give 8 tips for protecting against an appliance fire:

Register new appliances. The large number of recalls is a sobering reminder of how important it is for consumers to register their products with manufacturers in order to be promptly notified in the event of a recall. Consumers concerned about their privacy or junk mail need only provide manufacturers with their name, contact information and the appliance’s model number.
Check for recalls. Consumers can sign up for alerts at www.recalls.gov. Those who move into a home with existing appliances should record their make and model and check company websites for any recalls or review customers’ experiences with those products at www.SaferProducts.gov.
Install fire-prevention equipment. Each level of a home and every bedroom should have a working smoke alarm. Consumer Reports recommends smoke alarms have both photoelectric and ionization sensors to provide the fastest response to any type of fire. Also, keep one full-floor fire extinguisher (rated 2-A:10-B:C or greater) on every level, plus a smaller supplemental unit in the kitchen.
Inspect power cords. Check for frayed power cords and never route electric cords (including extension cords) under carpeting, where they can overheat or be damaged by furniture.
Check home wiring. The electrical wiring in older homes cannot always handle the demands of modern appliances. Systems should be inspected by a qualified electrician. An upgrade to wiring may cost several hundred dollars, but is likely worth the added expense.
Practice kitchen safety. Unattended cooking is a common fire-starter, whether using a range or microwave oven. If small children are home, maintain a kids-free-zone of at least 3 feet and use back burners when possible. Consumers should unplug their small appliances, including toasters and coffeemakers, when not in use and or when planning to be away for long periods.
Clear range hoods. Grease buildup in range hoods is another fire hazard, so be sure to clean the vents regularly.
Keep dryer vents clear. Clean the lint screen in the dryer regularly to avoid buildup, which has been listed as a factor in many fires. Use rigid metal dryer ducts instead of flexible ducts made of foil or plastic, which can sag and let lint build. Check ducts regularly and remove any lint buildup.

Once again, another example of how products that are sold everyday today in the United States are not safe. While federal agencies and private watchdog groups can do much to fight against people being hurt or killed by dangerous products, the truth remains that longstanding products liability laws on the books in Indiana, Illinois, and other states remains one of the strongest weapons against this type of tragedy. Sad but true that for some manufacturers and distributors and sellers of products today, it is only when they are faced with harm to their bottom line that they will do the right thing.

Be careful out there.

Posted in Defective Products, Equipment and Machine Malfunction, Explosions & Fires, Serious Personal Injury, Work Related, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Summary of New Fed Laws Governing Commercial Truck Drivers Effective February 27, 2012: Making the Roads Safer For All of Us (If They Are Followed)

January 24th, 2012 by admin

Approximately one month from today, on February 27, 2012, federal law will change regarding commercial trucks driven on American roads as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rule changes go into effect. These are a part of the Hours of Service regulations that have been so hotly debated over the past few years.

We’ve posted about aspects of these new rules before along with the trucking industry’s response to the agency’s proposals; however, it’s important to know the extent of what these new laws are – especially when trucking companies are already voicing their concerns that these new regulations will burden those trying to logistically plan trucking routes.

Summary of the New FMCSA Truck Driver Rules Effective February 2012

Here is a summary of the new February 2012 rules that govern truck drivers driving commercial trucks (big rigs; semis; tractor trailers; etc.) as passed by FMCSA (others will become law later in the year):

1. Restarts. Two rules work together to impose a new regulation involving 34-hour restarts.

34 hour restarts can be used once a week
must have 1 AM to 5 AM home terminal time

2. Rest Breaks. Now, a new rule requires that trucks cannot drive any longer than 8 hours without taking a 30 minute rest break.

3. On-Duty Time. If the truck driver is resting in a parked truck, then he or she can count this as rest time; it is no longer considered on-duty time even though they technically may be setting behind the wheel. It can extend the weekly limits but it cannot extend the 14 consecutive hour daily limit. There is no limit on how long the trucker can rest in a parked truck.

4. In Attendance Time. This can be tallied as break time if the truck driver is not doing any other work tasks at the time.

5. Daily HOS Violations. FMCSA considers that 3 hours of HOS violations as ‘egregious’ (i.e., going over the 11 hour per day limit by 3 or more hours) which will be reflected in higher fines, to the tune of $2,750 for the driver and $11,000 for the carrier.

Hours of Service regulations are designed to protect the truck driver and those with whom he shares the road from the ramifications of driving too far and too long without a break behind the wheel of a big commercial vehicle. The tragedies of big rig semi trucks crashing with other vehicles on the road (which usually weigh so much less than that tractor trailer truck) are often horrific as fatalities are usually involved.

These new regulations are designed to save lives. And they will. If truck drivers and carriers follow them.

Posted in Semi-Truck Crashes, Serious Personal Injury, Transportation, Work Related, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Feds Release Final Truck Driver Hours of Service (HOS) Rule: 11 Hour Limit and More Changes

December 29th, 2011 by admin

Truck Drivers will have to obey new laws on how long they drive and how long they have to rest between trips, which means the roads will be safer for all of us.

After so much discussion and so much challenge by various factions of the trucking industry, the final version of the “HOS Rule” has been issued by the federal government. The official announcement came on December 22, 2011, by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. You can read the full text of the new HOS Rule online at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminstration (FMCSA) site where it is available as a .pdf download.

What does the new Final HOS Rule Do? Here are some highlights:

The Final Rule has kept the 11-hour per day driving limit that truck drivers now have to follow (which means that those fighting to cut that number back to 10 or lower lost here).
Who’s working? “On duty time” under the New Rule means any time spent in the truck itself except for the sleeper. It does not include up to 2 hours in the passenger seat right before or right after an 8 hour break in the sleeper when the truck is on the road. It does not include time resting in a parked truck. Truckers are on duty while they are waiting to load or unload unless their employer has officially released them from being on the job for the load/unload.
Truck drivers moving big rig semi tractor trailer commercial trucks on American roads are not going to have the same work week: the new rule takes away 12 hours from the total that a truck driver can be on the road in one week’s time. That’s a day and a half — a big difference to the trucker and the trucking industry. Total hours a truck driver can work in one week is now 70 hours, down from 82.
Restarts can be used once every 7 days; under the New Rule, the truck driver gets 2 or more nights of rest between 1 and 5 o’clock in the morning, both changes to the old restart rule.
Under the New Rule, commercial truck drivers have to stop and take a break of 30 minutes or more after driving for 8 hours on the road. If the trucker thinks they need that 30 minute break before hitting that 8-hour mark, then they are free to take a break within that 8 hour block as well.

Official Announcement from the Department of Transportation:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced a final rule that employs the latest research in driver fatigue to make sure truck drivers can get the rest they need to operate safely when on the road. The new rule by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revises the hours-of-service (HOS) safety requirements for commercial truck drivers.

“Trucking is a difficult job, and a big rig can be deadly when a driver is tired and overworked,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This final rule will help prevent fatigue-related truck crashes and save lives. Truck drivers deserve a work environment that allows them to perform their jobs safely.”

As part of the HOS rulemaking process, FMCSA held six public listening sessions across the country and encouraged safety advocates, drivers, truck company owners, law enforcement and the public to share their input on HOS requirements. The listening sessions were live webcast on the FMCSA Web site, allowing a broad cross-section of individuals to participate in the development of this safety-critical rule.

“This final rule is the culmination of the most extensive and transparent public outreach effort in our agency’s history,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “With robust input from all areas of the trucking community, coupled with the latest scientific research, we carefully crafted a rule acknowledging that when truckers are rested, alert and focused on safety, it makes our roadways safer.”

FMCSA’s new HOS final rule reduces by 12 hours the maximum number of hours a truck driver can work within a week. Under the old rule, truck drivers could work on average up to 82 hours within a seven-day period. The new HOS final rule limits a driver’s work week to 70 hours.

In addition, truck drivers cannot drive after working eight hours without first taking a break of at least 30 minutes. Drivers can take the 30-minute break whenever they need rest during the eight-hour window.

The final rule retains the current 11-hour daily driving limit. FMCSA will continue to conduct data analysis and research to further examine any risks associated with the 11 hours of driving time.

The rule requires truck drivers who maximize their weekly work hours to take at least two nights’ rest when their 24-hour body clock demands sleep the most – from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. This rest requirement is part of the rule’s “34-hour restart” provision that allows drivers to restart the clock on their work week by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty. The final rule allows drivers to use the restart provision only once during a seven-day period.

Companies and drivers that commit egregious violations of the rule could face the maximum penalties for each offense. Trucking companies that allow drivers to exceed the 11-hour driving limit by 3 or more hours could be fined $11,000 per offense, and the drivers themselves could face civil penalties of up to $2,750 for each offense.

Commercial truck drivers and companies must comply with the HOS final rule by July 1, 2013. The rule is being sent to the Federal Register today and is currently available on FMCSA’s Web site at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/HOSFinalRule.

Posted in Job Site Injury, Semi-Truck Crashes, Serious Personal Injury, Transportation, Work Related | No Comments »

Indiana State Fair Tragedy Labelled Biggest Story of 2011: Where You Get Injured Makes a Difference in Damages Award You May Receive

December 27th, 2011 by admin

In one of the many end of the year recaps that are being circulated this week, the Indianapolis Star has published its article “the Top 10 Local Stories of 2011,” and topping their list is the tragic crash of the stage rigging at this year’s Indiana State Fair. (For details, check out our earlier post here or watch this video where Kenneth J. Allen discusses the State Fair tragedy’s consequences.)

One Lesson From the Indiana State Fair Tragedy: Justice May Depend Upon Where the Accident Happened

As Kenneth J. Allen discusses in the above video, the fact that this tragedy took place where it did made a difference for those seeking personal injury damages under the law. An injury that occurred on a government-related site got different treatment under the law than if would have if the exact same incident had happened at a privately owned location. The Indiana State Fair took place on state owned fairgrounds.

Under Indiana law, this meant that a cap applied to the damages claim: a cap of $5 million. If the accident had not been on publicly owned land, then the cap would not be an issue.

Attorney General Announces Settlement in December 2011 – $5 Million is Paid Out

On December 19, 2011, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller officially announced that settlements had been reached with 64 of the 65 claimants in the Indiana State Fair tragedy and that his office expected checks to begin being sent out to these victims by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, Kenneth J. Allen is working for justice here, going into federal court to ask that this $5 million cap be nixed for the Indiana State Fair victims. In December 2011, the federal judge okayed Allen’s plan to have federal review of the situation. More on that fight in the months to come.

The Indiana Attorney General seems to have ended 2011 with checks being sent and an idea that this is a done deal. From the AG’s news release:

“Deciding on compensation for the victims of the State Fair tragedy is one of the most difficult duties the Indiana Attorney General’s Office has ever undertaken. From the start we knew that no matter how we divided the $5 million available, it could never replace the seven lives lost nor erase the pain of the injured and grieving. We did all that was possible to treat victims equitably and to assist them with their medical and financial needs within the amount the law allows,” Zoeller said.

Defending the state’s Tort Claim Fund, which is made up of tax dollars, from claims and potential lawsuits is one of the duties of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office. After the deadly stage rigging collapse August 13 at the Indiana State Fair, Zoeller announced that he would make available the $5 million in tort claim funds the State has, without regard to liability.

Working with nationally-known expert Kenneth Feinberg who administered victim compensation programs after 9/11 and the BP Gulf oil spill, Zoeller’s office designed a victim-centered program where victims could submit tort claims to the state and receive settlement payments on an expedited basis, even if they did not hire an attorney.

A total of 114 individual claimants – including the representatives of the seven deceased – filed a total 101 claims and utilized a customized State Fair claim form the Attorney General’s Office developed. The State also retained a claims management firm, JWF Specialty Company, to receive and review the claims and follow up with claimants to obtain additional medical documentation.

Under the compensation protocol Feinberg helped design, the estates of the seven deceased victims were guaranteed settlements of at least $300,000 each. Another 58 claimants who were most seriously injured and met at least one other protocol criteria were offered payments equal to approximately 65 percent of their medical and hospital bills submitted to date. Since that amount will exhaust the rest of the $5 million the State has available, claimants with non-physical injuries did not receive settlement offers under the protocol.

To be offered settlements, claimants or their attorneys were required to submit documentation of hospital expenses; the form asked that documentation be attached. Offers could not be extended to any claim that lacked medical documentation or where the requested information was not provided. JWF Specialty Company was available to answer questions from claimants and their attorneys throughout the process.

On December 6 the State sent offer notices to 65 eligible claimants or their representatives requesting a prompt reply. Although claimants had the legal right to decline the offers, all but one accepted, including the estates of all seven deceased victims. The remaining $1,691 that one claimant’s attorney declined was redistributed among the other 64 claimants and their offers were recalculated. By accepting offers, claimants sign settlement documents releasing the State of Indiana from future liability. That does not prevent claimants from pursuing separate legal actions against other private entities over the stage rigging collapse.

After offers were extended, three claimants identified conflicting medical billing data that had been previously submitted to claims manager JWF Specialty Company during the claim-filing period. The disputed claims were carefully reviewed, and the State and JWF agreed to resolve the disputes in favor of the claimants, meaning their offers were revised upward by a combined total of $33,027.31. Since by law the State’s cap per incident is a total $5 million and cannot exceed that, JWF Specialty Company graciously agreed to pick up the difference and pay the increased offers to the three claimants out of its own funds.

“JWF Specialty provided invaluable service to the State under extraordinarily difficult circumstances under an accelerated claims-review period. We appreciate their good corporate citizenship in resolving disputes in favor of the claimants in keeping with a victim-centered approach, and we thank them for their expertise on an extremely complicated claims-management process. There was nearly 100 percent participation from those claimants who were offered settlements, an indication we believe of how carefully the protocol was developed,” Zoeller said.

During the process of calculating settlement offers, the Attorney General’s Office participated in mediation with a group of approximately 30 attorneys and law firms representing many claimants and reached tentative accord on the protocol. Settlement offers are with the consent of the Governor’s Office.

“Members of the legal profession who met repeatedly with the State to reach consensus on a compensation program for their clients should be commended for helping bring this process to an expedited conclusion. And I’m enormously grateful to Kenneth Feinberg who donated his services at no charge to the State of Indiana or taxpayers. His wisdom from developing past victim compensation programs after other tragedies was indispensible to my office in helping us navigate through difficult questions. The work of the Attorney General’s Office does not end here and we will continue to diligently represent the State in legal matters involving the State Fair tragedy,” Zoeller said.

Now that the final list of accepted offers has been calculated, the State Auditor’s Office will begin the process of issuing payments by check or electronic funds transfer. The first group of checks is scheduled to be mailed Wednesday and the process should be complete by the end of the year. JWF Specialty Company will follow up with any claimants from whom any additional paperwork is needed.

Posted in Defective Products, Product Liability, Serious Personal Injury, Transportation, Work Related, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Construction of High Speed Rail from Chicago to St. Louis: How Safe (or Dangerous) Is It? Railroad Dangers Are Real.

October 27th, 2011 by admin

Right now, money is still being put together to pay for the planned high speed rail system that will serve the 284 mile Chicago – St. Louis Corridor. Moreover, there’s still lots of chatter about making things even bigger: this week, the Illinois Department of Transportation announced it wants to add more trips between Joliet and St. Louis, for example, which means more tracks. Two tracks instead of one.

Corridor Tracks Divided Up Between Railroad Companies

Already, various railroad companies have divied things up: Canadian National (CN) has two tracks already set along its section of the corridor (Joliet – Chicago); Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) has one track in place between between Joliet and Godfrey. In a section that UPRR shares with Kansas City Southern (KCS), one track is set for 10 miles, and then two tracks are ready along another 19 miles. Meanwhile, the Terminal Railroad Association (TRRA) is getting ready for tracks along its 3 mile portion of the Corridor, going over the Mississippi River Bridge and into the St. Louis Terminal.

The High Speed Rail Project has been designed to take some of the travel burden from the cars and planes that currently serve as transportation between Chicago and St. Louis (well, 99% anyway). The goal is to construct two tracks along the Corridor. It’s believed that the new High-Speed Rail will reduce vehicle miles by 1.3 million miles.

What exactly will the High Speed Rail Project do?

From the IDOT website, the following description of these fast trains is given:

IDOT is taking an incremental approach to implementing high-speed rail in the state, similar to how many European countries have implemented high-speed rail service. The 110 miles per hour service on the corridor has the necessary environmental documents, and construction began on September 1, 2010. The public will get first glimpse of 110 mph passenger service between Dwight and Pontiac as early as 2012. IDOT embraces the idea that a network of different but connecting rail services operating at up to both 110 miles per hour and 220 miles per hour may best serve the state’s travel and economic development needs. IDOT recently submitted a grant application to the Federal Railroad Administration for an Alternative Analysis and environmental studies for 220 miles per hour service. However, the application was not selected for funding. Trains operating at 220 miles per hour will be subject to a higher level of safety standards which require grade separations for any rail/highway crossings, dedicated right-of-way and fencing. The development of such a system will take a considerable length of time.

Railroads Are Dangerous — Risk of Serious Personal Injury or Death Now and Later

Railroads, normal ones much less these fancy 220 mph speed demon trains, are dangerous. Construction of railroads is very risky and workers get seriously injured in the building of these things. Moreover, once they are built, railway workers are at risk for severe injuries and even death just by doing their work, on the job at the railroad.

Railway workers can be seriously injured from things like equipment failure, driver mistakes or human error, improper supervision, and countless other things. In fact, it’s so dangerous to work on any railway (much less High Speed Rail) that special federal laws have been passed to protect railroad workers, e.g., The Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA).

Finally, there are all sorts of dangers to the public at large from railroads: crossings are extremely dangerous in the best of conditions.

Last year, for example, a tragedy that struck a high speed train in Spain was used as an example by local experts of what can happen here, with the proposed new High Speed Rail project. There, a group of folk tried to run across some tracks after they got off a train, and were crushed to death under the wheels of one of these speeding express trains.

The sad reality is that people are going to be injured or killed from High Speed Rail here — history proves it’s a question of when, not if; therefore, safety concerns should be paramount here as the designs are being nailed down and the budgets are being discussed. This project needs to be as safe as it can be, from planning stages on paper through actual High Speed Rail use in the years to come.

After all, our family and friends are depending on it.

Posted in Auto Accidents, Illinois Wrongful Death, Indiana Wrongful Death, Job Site Injury, Other Jurisdictions, Railroad Workers (FELA), Serious Personal Injury, Transportation, Work Related, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

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