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$300,000 settlement for a motorist’s failure to maintain control of her vehicle. The defendant’s vehicle penetrated the exterior wall of a restaurant resulting in blunt force trauma to the plaintiff.

$2.750 million settlement for negligent operation of a commercial vehicle in connection with a trucker’s failure to take timely and appropriate evasive action. The plaintiff sustained multiple serious injuries including a traumatic brain injury and multiple fractures.

$250,000 settlement for a work truck’s failure to drive at a safe speed on icy road conditions. The plaintiff suffered injuries to her neck, back and shoulder and had to undergo shoulder surgery.

If you've been injured in a car accident, call the Sweeney Law Firm now. There's never a fee, unless we make a recovery for you.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a trucking accident, contact Sweeney Law Firm.

Distracted drivers cause accidents. If you've been injured by a distracted driver, contact us now. We sue distracted drivers.

Indiana Accidents Involving Uninsured or Underinsured Motorists There are many motorists on the Indiana roadways that have no insurance or do not have adequate insurance.  Talk with your insurance people about increasing the amount of your coverage to protect yourself in case an uninsured motorist hits you but doesn't have insurance. If you need assistance with any kind of car accident in the Indiana area, contact the personal injury lawyers at the Sweeney law firm today. If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of an automobile accident, trucking accident, motor cycle accident or boating accident, you may have a personal injury case. The initial consultation is free. The Sweeney Law Firm works on a contingent fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if there is a settlement or recovery of funds. Fill our the online Case Review Form here

Motor Vehicle Accident Attorneys Indiana Last year there were nearly 200,000 car accidents in the state of Indiana. If you have been injured in a car accident, you need an experienced car accident attorney today. If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of an automobile accident, trucking accident or motor cycle accident, you may have a personal injury case. The Sweeney Law Firm can evaluate your Automobile Accident, to see if you have a case. The initial consultation is free. The Sweeney Law Firm works on a contingent fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if there is a settlement or recovery of funds. Indiana Car Accident Lawyers Sweeney Law Firm 1-866-793-6339 (Toll Free) 1-260-420-3137 (Local) 1-260-969-0321 (Fax)

LEE KELSO: Did you know that every sixteen minutes a person is either injured or killed in an accident involving an eighteen-wheeler, tractor trailer, or semi-truck? A typical fully-loaded large commercial truck can weigh eighty-thousand pounds or more, while a typical passenger automobile weighs only about three-thousand pounds. While semi-trucks make up just three-percent of the vehicles on the road, they are involved in twelve-percent of fatal accidents on the road. Joining us today to discuss legal claims arising from truck accidents is David Farnbauch, attorney with the Sweeney Law Firm. Thanks for taking sometime with us today to advise. DAVID FARNBAUCH: Pleasure to be here today. LEE KELSO: David you and your law firm have handled more than your share of truck cases over the past few years. What are some of the most common causes of these truck accidents? DAVID FARNBAUCH: Well I think one of the most common causes of truck accidents is driver fatigue, often over the road truck drivers will be driving for many hours at the time of the accident, they are tired and they are fatigued that results in an accident. LEE KELSO: When a truck driver causes a personal injury on a highway, what are some of the potential parties that might be held responsible other than the truck driver himself? DAVID FARNBAUCH: Well truck accident cases are particularly complex because one of the things that we have to do initially is find out whose involved in that truck being out on the road. Often there will be an owner of the actual truck itself. There will be another owner of the tractor. They'll be a legal entity that will be responsible for the shipment of the cargo that's involved in the accident. Thus, there is any number of parties that may be involved in the accident as defendants in a truck accident case. LEE KELSO: David in your experience, what is it that makes a legal case against a truck driver more challenging or complex in cases that involve two cars that collide on a roadway? DAVID FARNBAUCH: Well I think that there are a number of things that make these cases more complex. First of all, most of the time that we are dealing with a truck accident we are dealing with a more significant and often a more catastrophic injury. When a seventy-thousand pound semi collides with a motor-vehicle normally there are serious injuries that are involved, so that increases the complexity of the claim. Second of all, these cases involve extensive investigation. Often the whereabouts or the activities of a truck driver for up to a week before the event. So we have to obtain all of the driver logs and evidence of where that truck driver was. Normally there is an accident where reconstruction is involved to try to quantify what speed the truck was traveling and where the vehicles came together, so normally there would be accident reconstruction experts that are involved in these cases, so these cases can be very complex. LEE KELSO: Can you take our viewers through some of the steps you and your law firm takes when a client comes to you after an accident involving a semi-tractor trailer? DAVID FARNBAUCH: Well one of the first things we do if we are hired shortly after an accident is to get a letter to the trucking company and ask them to preserve the evidence or preserve the truck and the parts and pieces of the truck immediately after an accident, so that evidence can be analyzed by investigators and accident reconstruction people to try to piece together how the accident happened. The other thing that we try to do is immediately secure as I mentioned before the driver logs. When truck drivers are driving a load on the highways, they are required to keep records of their whereabouts. What time they start the trip, how many stops they made and all the information has to be logged in an employees log book. So we try to immediately get possession of a copy of the driver's log book. LEE KELSO: If one of our viewers is seriously injured in an accident involving a tractor trailer, what advice do you offer that person or their family? DAVID FARNBAUCH: Well the most important advice that I can give particularly a truck accident is the need to call a lawyer who has experience doing truck injury cases immediately after the accident. Trucking companies immediately dispatch investigators and accident reconstruction people to the scene often within hours of when an accident occurs. So they are able to secure the evidence, secure witness statements right away. In order to present a case it's important for the injured party to get a hold of a lawyer right away so that your own attorney can get out and secure witness statements and secure the evidence right after an accident as well. LEE KELSO: Thanks for spending some time with us today David sharing you experience in these striking cases. DAVID FARNBAUCH: Thanks for having me.

Host 1: Welcome back to INSight. We are joined now by Dave Farnbaugh and we’re going to talk about a really important topic, something that people don’t necessarily think of until they’re in a situation. What do you do after you’ve been involved in an accident? It’s just one of those unfortunate things. Host 2: It’s something that we don’t want to happen, but unfortunately it does probably happen to everyone one at some point in their life. In their life, their driving down the road, and I’m in the car, let’s say someone hits me even and I’m not responsible for it at all. Let’s say even it’s a minor accident, do I need to get on the phone right then? I mean obviously I call the police first, then do I need to get on the phone and call the Sweeney Law Firm right then? What do I do? Dave: Well, the issue of whether you should call an attorney right away depends on the severity of the injuries that are involved. If it’s a minor crash then probably calling an attorney’s not the best idea but if you’ve been injured in an accident, you’ve been taken to the hospital, you’ve been treated at the emergency room, you have some on going symptoms and problems after the accident. It probably makes sense before you start talking to the insurance company to find out a little bit about what your rights are, about what’s going to happen, and those sorts of things, so it depends a lot on the severities of the injuries in the crash. Host 1: We live in an age where everyone has a cell phone that they can take pictures with. Do you recommend that if you’ve been in an accident, a car accident for example, that you or your family takes pictures right away? At the scene or later on? Dave: I think that the most important issue as it pertains to photographs is photographing the injuries themselves. Most of the time after a car crash, the insurance companies are going to be out taking a lot of photographs of the damage of the cars, but what comes and goes are the injuries from the crash itself. Often times people have bruises, seat belt bruises, or they’ll have a collection of blood, contusion, or hurt some part of their body that is going to be here today; gone in a few days.  If you don’t take photographs of those injuries then that critical evidence can be lost. Host 2: I know the couple of times that I’ve been in accidents, they’ve all been minor thank heavens, but they’ve not been my fault. They’ve been the other drivers fault. So the others drivers insurance company has called me and questioned me. Is it ok for me to talk to them? Dave: Well, that’s probably the big issues that a person has to decide from the get go about how they’re going to approach the insurance company contacting them. What people have to understand is that insurance companies are in business not only to pay claims but to minimize the amount of money that they pay out in claims. So insurance adjusters receive training on how to talk to people on the phone, get you to say things that maybe aren’t in your best interest. They always ask you, “Well how are you doing?” Most people don’t like to be on the phone and cry and whine about their own injuries, so a lot of people say, “Well, I guess I’m doing ok” or “I’m feeling better.” That’s a relative term. You might be feeling really bad, but compared to how you felt a day after the accident, you are doing better. There are certain things that people say to an insurance adjuster over the phone that causes harm to their legal case. We think it’s better if you are involved in any type of a serious accident where you receive treatment at the emergency room or you have some on going symptoms, to consult an attorney before hand to decide whether you should give a statement to an insurance company, what you should say, and also decide whether you may need an attorney to represent you in that case. It’s in your own best interest to have an attorney through this process. The insurance companies have done studies on the amount of compensation that a person receives if they don’t have an attorney or the amount of compensation that a person receives if they have an attorney. Insurance companies own research shows that if a person has an attorney they’re apt to receive twice as much compensation, even after attorneys fees are paid compared to their counter parts who don’t hire an attorney. That’s one of the critical issues, if you are entitled to compensation through medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering. You have to decide do I want to go at this alone, or do I want to get competent legal representation to help me though the process and hopefully maximize the amount of my recovery. Host 2: Is there some check list or something that the Sweeney Law Firm would have that can kind of tell us what we should do or give us a guide line of how we would go about it if we were in that situation? Dave: Well, we do. What we provide to consumers is information about some of the steps that they should take immediately after an accident. This pertains to how you should deal with the insurance company. Also, steps that you should take, including some common sense things, don’t give a statement over the phone unless you’re certain about what your legal rights are. Photograph your injuries. Just a variety of helpful tips and we put it in the form of a brochure or free report that we give people so if you go to our website or you call our law firm, we’ll send you this free report which gives people a lot of valuable information on what to do immediately after an accident. Host 1: That’s so great because a lot of times after an accident it shakes you up. And even though things might seem like common sense, you know as we sit here and talk; after you’ve had that traumatic experience – you don’t have your wits about you. Host 2: You don’t and you’re just overwhelmed by the whole situation. If you have been involved in an accident or feel like you need legal advice, you can give the Sweeney Law Firm a call today or visit their website.

LEE KELSO: One of the most important things you can do to protect your family is to make sure you have adequate insurance coverage, particularly when it comes to auto insurance. We're here today with attorney David Farnbauch, a long time lawyer from Fort Wayne, whose going to talk to us today about some of the most important insurance coverage you should include on your auto coverage. David thanks for being with us today. DAVID FARNBAUCH: It's great to be with you today. LEE KELSO: David most of our viewers probably carry uninsured or under-insured motorist coverage on their auto policy. I'll bet some of our viewers do not fully understand the distinction between uninsured and under-insured coverage. Could you explain? DAVID FARNBAUCH: Well uninsured motorist coverage is coverage that motorists purchase to protect themselves against another driver that causes an accident and that other driver does not have any auto liability insurance whatsoever. That's known as uninsured motorist coverage. Under-insured motorist coverage is protection that you purchase to protect yourself against a driver who has auto liability insurance, but do not have enough coverage to fully cover all the damages that are caused in the accident. For example: in Indiana a motorist is required to carry at least twenty-five thousand dollars per person in liability coverage. frequently we see accidents in our office where the damages, the medical bills alone are a hundred- thousand, two-hundred thousand, three-hundred thousand dollars, so if the other driver's only carrying twenty-five thousand dollars worth of liability insurance coverage, that driver's not carrying enough insurance to fully cover all of your damages from the accident. So you have to look to your own policy to provide additional coverage over and above what the other driver was carrying. LEE KELSO: David in Indiana is it mandatory that you have uninsured or under-insured motorist coverage as part of your own auto-insurance coverage? DAVID FARNBAUCH: No it isn't mandatory, in fact its one of those things that we always recommend to our clients. Whenever they renew their auto-insurance coverage we ask them to take a look at both their uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage to try to purchase as much uninsured and under-insured coverage as they can afford because there are many situations where accidents are caused by drivers who are carrying very low limits like twenty-five thousand or fifty-thousand dollars worth of auto-insurance coverage. LEE KELSO: What are the typical policy limits for coverage sold to consumers in the State of Indiana? DAVID FARNBAUCH: The typical policy that we see sold in the State of Indiana is a policy that provides a hundred thousand dollars coverage for injuries to any one person or three hundred-thousand dollars for all of the occupants in the vehicle or what we call per accident coverage. So with a hundred-thousand dollar policy limits for the at fault driver commonly we see situations where there is a serious accident even the medical bills alone will exceed the two hundred-thousand dollars that's available under the at fault driver's auto insurance coverage that's why it is important to check your own policy and try to purchase more under-insured motorist coverage so that if you are involved in a serious accident you can recover damages on your own policy. LEE KELSO: So why would a person want to add uninsured or under-insured coverage to their policy? DAVID FARNBAUCH: Well I think the big reason that you would want to have coverage as I mentioned before is because so many drivers in the State of Indiana that are carrying lowland policies. you see advertisements all the time on television for insurance companies that are selling so-called minimum coverage. There is a very significant percentage of drivers out there that are driving around with only twenty-five thousand dollars worth of insurance coverage and it does not take much of an accident or much of a hospital stay to go through twenty-five thousand to fifty-thousand dollars of auto insurance coverage just to cover medical expenses alone, so I think that is imperative every time you renew your policy to talk to your agent about how much uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage you can afford. LEE KELSO: How much uninsured and under-insured coverage should a family carry? DAVID FARNBAUCH: I think that based on our experience and based on current medical expenses a four or five day hospital stay right now will run you around somewhere between fifteen and a hundred-thousand dollars. I would say that once again if your budget will afford it we would recommend the family carry a minimum of two-hundred fifty thousand dollars of under-insured motorist coverage if you can afford it. Purchase an additional umbrella policy of a million dollars worth of under-insured motorist coverage. You'll find if you talk to an insurance agent that an umbrella policy that gives you an additional million dollars of under-insured motorist coverage it doesn't cost more than a few hundred dollars per year. LEE KELSO: Give our viewers some idea just how much uninsured and under-insured insurance coverage comes into play in the aftermath of a motor vehicle accident. DAVID FARNBAUCH: I would say that in the last ten years approximately half of the motor vehicle accident cases that we have in our office will ultimately recover damages under the client's own auto insurance policy, so once again with increased cost of medical care and the number of drivers that are driving on the Indiana roadways with minimum one month policies it's very critical to purchase uninsured motorist coverage for your own protection. LEE KELSO: If one of our viewers is involved in an accident and has questions about uninsured or under-insured motorist coverage does your firm offer free consultation? DAVID FARNBAUCH: Our law firm like most law firms who handle accident cases offer free consultation, so if you have questions about whether uninsured or under-insured motorist coverage applies to your situation feel free to call our office and we'll answer your questions for free. LEE KELSO: That's good advice. Thanks for shedding some light on this confusing subject and spending time with us today. DAVID FARNBAUCH: Thanks for having me.