Articles Posted in Truck Accidents

Payment of Hospital Lien Does Not Reduce Tortfeasor’s Automobile Bodily Injury Liability Policy Limits for Purposes of Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Barsumian Armiger

The Indiana Court of Appeals recently resolved a dispute as to the availability of underinsured coverage in an Indiana motor vehicle accident case. In Catanzarite v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Indiana, the Plaintiff, Christine Catanzarite, suffered severe injuries when another driver, Timothy Smith, turned his vehicle in front of her vehicle, causing a collision. Catanzarite…

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Recovery of Diminished Value of Truck in Auto Accident Case Approved by Indiana Court of Appeals
Barsumian Armiger

Persons involved in car accidents in Indiana due to no fault of their own have numerous claims for damages that they can pursue against the at-fault parties that caused the collisions. Claimants can pursue claims for wrongful death, physical and permanent injuries, medical costs and other expenses, lost wages, lost time, loss of enjoyment of…

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Insurers Assume the Risk When Disputing Coverage While Not Defending Their Insureds
Barsumian Armiger

Personal injury lawyers must often navigate complex and confusing insurance policies that might be available to compensate their injured clients. Insurance policy types may include general liability, professional liability, medical payment, health insurance, and in a recent truck accident case decided by the Indiana Court of Appeals, an MCS-90 Endorsement. An MCS-90 is known to…

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New Trial on Damages Required When Failure to Mitigate Instruction Given in Truck Accident Case Without Evidence of Causation Between Failure and Damages Sustained by Plaintiff
Barsumian Armiger

The Indiana Court of Appeals recently found a trial court erred when it instructed a jury on the plaintiff’s alleged failure to mitigate damages in an Indiana truck accident case. In Humphrey v. Tuck, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against a truck driver and a trucking company arising from a trucking collision in which the…

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Does the Police Report Definitively Determine Who is the At-Fault Driver in an Indiana Auto Accident Case or Indiana Truck Accident Case?
Barsumian Armiger

Before we meet with a prospective client about their potential car accident injury case or truck accident injury case, we will have already obtained and reviewed the crash report. We will then go through the crash report with them and identify whether the officer determined anyone was the primary cause of the accident and whether…

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Component Part Manufacturer May Have Duty to Offer or Install Necessary Safety Features
Barsumian Armiger

The Indiana Supreme Court recently held in Brewer v. PACCAR, Inc. that a component part manufacturer (PACCAR) may have a duty to offer or install necessary safety features under Indiana’s Product Liability Act (IPLA). Because issues of fact existed as to whether the safety features were offered and necessary to make the final product safe,…

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Sudden Medical Emergency Can Excuse Car Crash Under Indiana Law
Barsumian Armiger

The Indiana Court of Appeals recently upheld the grant of summary judgment in favor of the estate of a vehicle driver who suffered a heart attack and became unconscious while driving, which resulted in his vehicle speeding up, going off the roadway, and crashing into a nearby house. The vehicle driver died and his passenger,…

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Indiana Court Upholds Award of Prejudgment Interest in Trucking Accident Case
Barsumian Armiger

A recent memorandum decision from the Indiana Court of Appeals in J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. v. Guardianship of Zak affirmed an Indiana trial court’s order awarding the guardianship of a passenger injured in a semi-truck collision $4,810,000.00 in prejudgment interest. Ten months after an Indiana jury found in favor of the passenger and against the…

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When Must An Automobile Insurer Pursue Reimbursement for Medical Payments?
Barsumian Armiger

In Holland v. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Company, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided a dispute between an Indiana lawyer and an automobile insurer concerning the reimbursement of medical payments coverage provided by the automobile insurer to the injured client of the lawyer in a personal injury lawsuit. After the lawyer’s client was injured in…

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Can the Threat of Punitive Damages Deter Serial Texting Indiana Drivers? (Part 2 of 2)
Barsumian Armiger

Last week we looked at Indiana’s anti-texting statute, the unlikelihood of criminal enforcement, and asked whether punitive damages could provide an additional deterrent. We noted the first obstacle to punitive damages is Indiana’s incentive-reducing statute that takes 75% of any uninsured, punitive judgment and requires this to be paid to the State of Indiana. The…

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