Justices take case on DCS caller confidentiality
The Indiana Supreme Court will decide whether the Indiana Department of Child Services may be sued for failing to maintain the confidentiality of a caller who reported suspected child neglect.
Negligence
Articles
Company barred from mentioning standard in negligence case
A company being sued for negligent design by a man who fell out of its utility truck bucket and became paralyzed may not mention a specific design standard at a new trial on the issue, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
COA: No error in admitting post-accident reports at negligence trial
Dealing with the question for the first time in a negligence case involving a fired truck driver, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided that a post-incident investigation is not an inadmissible subsequent remedial measure.
On rehearing, judges find investigator’s photos admissible
The Indiana Court of Appeals granted rehearing to a case involving a lawsuit brought by a man injured by a sheriff deputy’s vehicle while he walked along the side of the road. The divided court held certain evidence, including an investigator’s affidavit and photos, are admissible at trial.
COA: Lack of warning signs reinstates suit in fatal crash
The Indiana Court of Appeals found the Hancock County Board of Commissioners was not liable for the way an intersection was designed but found there was an issue of material fact as to whether the county should have installed warning signs there. A man was killed at the intersection in 2009 in a crash with another vehicle, triggering a lawsuit.
Handcuff injury claim against Alexandria officers proceeds
A man who claims he was injured after he asked Alexandria police not to handcuff him during a compliant arrest because he’d had recent rotator cuff surgery that limited his shoulder mobility may proceed with a federal lawsuit against the officers, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Shot officer’s suit against gun dealer splits COA
An Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Officer who was shot and wounded by a suspect he killed returning fire may proceed with his lawsuit against a gun dealer that sold the gun to a straw purchaser, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The officer’s case is supported by law enforcement and public policy organizations.
Justices take 3 new cases, split on others
The Indiana Supreme Court approved transfer to three cases last week involving duties of social hosts, compensation for teachers’ ancillary duties and jury instructions in a drunken-driving case. Justices were split 3-2 on four other petitions for transfer.
Plaintiff failed to prove injury caused by crane lessor
A man severely injured at work by a crane failed to prove that a company breached a duty to inspect a certain part of a crane before delivering it to the renter for use, and that the alleged breach was the proximate cause of the injury, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
COA affirms negligence action barred against woman’s employer
An employee who received workers’ compensation benefits for her injury on work property is barred by the Workers’ Compensation Act from filing a negligence lawsuit against her employer and its subsidiaries, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Wednesday.
State Fair invoices do not retroactively indemnify company in stage collapse
The terms on invoices from the company contracted to provide equipment for concerts at the State Fair do not imply retroactive indemnification for the company after the 2011 stage collapse, the Indiana Supreme Court held Thursday in a matter of first impression.
COA: Causation questions remain in med-mal suit
A woman initially treated for an aggressive form of cancer, only to later discover she was suffering from a far-less serious form of the disease, can proceed with her lawsuit against a doctor she alleges was negligent in catching her cancer early.
House party hosts face heightened liability after recent COA ruling
Just in time for holiday revelry and New Year’s Eve celebrations, an Indiana appeals court ruled hosts of house parties may be held liable for the well-being of guests who drink too much.
Reversal: Care facility must pay legal fees after $1M negligence verdict
An assisted-living facility where a resident died after being badly burned must pay the estate’s attorney fees, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday in reversing a trial court.
South Bend man wins partial reversal of sewer nuisance suit
A man who sued South Bend claiming that noxious gas from city sewer lines had been forced into his home may proceed with part of his lawsuit against the city.
Divided COA reinstates lawsuit of drunk man who fled, was hit by cars
A bar will have to face a negligence lawsuit brought by a man who was served at least one drink before he fled from a police stop in handcuffs and was hit by two cars as he tried to cross a state highway.
Ruling in favor of doctors in med mal case upheld
The trial court properly tendered a jury instruction in a medical malpractice case that advised the jury that physicians are not liable for an error in diagnosis or treatment when exercising reasonable care, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Thursday.
Lawsuit continues on railroad crossing accident case
A woman involved in a fatal car versus train accident in Boone County will be allowed to go to trial on just one of her claims: whether the railroad company failed to provide an unobstructed view at the crossing because of lack of vegetation control.
7th Circuit won’t reinstate Lauren Spierer family’s lawsuit
A civil lawsuit filed by the parents of missing Indiana University student Lauren Spierer was properly decided in favor of defendants who were among the last people to see her, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Indiana law applies to truck fatality, COA rules
A family’s attempt to apply Illinois law in an Indiana traffic fatality failed to overcome state court precedent, which has established that laws of the state where an accident happened govern the conduct of the parties.