The Indiana Court of Appeals recently found against Amazon in two related cases, one involving personal injury and one involving wrongful death, finding Amazon owed a duty of care to two truck drivers injured on an abutting public road while attempting to deliver goods to one of Amazon’s fulfillment centers. In Oukbu v. Amazon, Mahari…
Continue reading ›The Indiana Court of Appeals recently reaffirmed the unavailability of damages for negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED) in adult wrongful death medical malpractice claims. In Hyzy v. Anonymous Provider 1, Mark Hyzy filed a medical malpractice claim for the death of his mother Carolyn Hyzy. He sought various damages, including damages for NIED. The…
Continue reading ›The Indiana Court of Appeals recently evaluated the timeliness of claims asserted under Indiana’s Child Wrongful Death Statute (CWDS). In Peters v. Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana, Inc., Amanda Peters (Mother) filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana (Girl Scouts) after her eleven-year-old daughter Isabelle Meyer was killed when a…
Continue reading ›The Indiana Supreme Court recently examined whether an individual who pleaded guilty but mentally ill to voluntary manslaughter can sue his mental health providers for negligence and emotional distress. The case presented quite a complicated procedural and factual history and, ultimately, generated a strongly worded dissent by the Chief Justice. By way of background, Plaintiff,…
Continue reading ›The Indiana Court of Appeals recently revived a dismissed wrongful death case brought by two stepchildren against their stepmother for the death of their father. In Estate of Bichler by Ivy v. Bichler, Jennifer Ivy and Tyler Bichler sued their stepmother, Wanda Bichler, for the death of their father, Jeffrey Bichler. Jennifer and Tyler alleged…
Continue reading ›We previously discussed the potential significance of an MCS-90 insurance policy endorsement in a truck accident case in discussing Prime Insurance Co. v. Wright. Such an endorsement is considered a guarantee of sorts, or suretyship, by an insurance company that a federally-regulated motor carrier will meet its public financial responsibility obligation under the Motor Carrier…
Continue reading ›The Indiana Court of Appeals recently affirmed the judgment of a trial court finding a paternal grandmother serving as personal representative of her deceased son had no standing to file a wrongful death case under Indiana’s Child Wrongful Death Statute (CWDS) for the death of her grandson. In Johnson v. Harris, a two-year-old boy drowned…
Continue reading ›The Indiana Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion allowing a deceased woman’s estate to move forward in a wrongful death lawsuit arising from the operation of a county 911 system. In Howard Cty. Sheriff’s Dep’t & Howard Cty. 911 Commc’ns v. Duke, Tammy Lynn Ford (“Ford”) called the Howard County 911 Dispatch from her…
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Super Lawyers rates Indiana attorneys on a yearly basis in more than 70 different practice areas, including personal injury and medical malpractice. Following its completion of a peer review process, together with a patented evaluation process, the organization determines the lawyers in Indiana it will include on its Super Lawyers and Rising Stars list and…
Continue reading ›The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently requested the Indiana Supreme Court address two questions through a process known as certification of questions. Both Seventh Circuit Rule 52(a) and Indiana Rule of Appellate Procedure 64 recognize federal courts may seek guidance from a state’s highest court on questions arising under the…
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