Indiana Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

On October 29, 2009, in the matter of Brown-Day v. Allstate Insurance Co., the Indiana Court of Appeals held that Allstate, as the Plaintiff's UIM carrier, was not entitled to substitute the dismissed tort feasor as the party defendant for purposes of the underinsured motorist trial to prevent prejudice from the “mention of insurance” under Evid. R. 411. According to the Court (Barnes, J. writing with Kirsch and Vaidik, JJ. concurring):

Evidence Rule 411 simply is not a mechanism providing for an outright substitution of parties so that the identity of a party as an insurer may be shielded. It does not contemplate the creation of a fiction to avoid possible prejudicial effects from a reference to insurance or an insurer.

The Court also held that the Plaintiff was entitled to cross-examine Allstate's medical examiner regarding who had hired him and how much he had been paid even though that line of questioning would reveal the existence of insurance. This ruling is consistent with the language and purpose of Indiana Rules of Evidence 411 adn 616 which only exclude evidence of insurance when it is offered to establish liability and specifically authorize evidence of insurance when it is offered for the purpose of establishing the bias and prejudice of a witness.

The Plaintiff in this case was represented by Nick Deets of the Indianapolis, Indiana Personal Injury Firm of Hovde Dassow and Deets, LLC.

The full opinion may be found at: http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/10290901lmb.pdf.

Posted by Nicholas C. Deets | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Truck Accidents

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On October 6, 2009, a Bloomington, Indiana jury returned a verdict in favor of Plaintiffs Wanda and Bart Fitzgerald in their medical malpractice claim against Defendant Dr. Alan Wise. The claim arose out of a burn Wanda Fitzgerald received as a result of being rolled over onto an electrocautery unit during surgery. The Fitzgeralds were represented by attorney Nick Deets of the Indianapolis firm Hovde Dassow & Deets LLC.

Posted by Nicholas C. Deets | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Malpractice

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On October 6, 2009, a Bloomington, Indiana jury returned a verdict in favor of Plaintiffs Wanda and Bart Fitzgerald in their medical malpractice claim against Defendant Dr. Alan Wise. The claim arose out of a burn Wanda Fitzgerald received as a result of being rolled over onto an electrocautery unit during surgery. The Fitzgeralds were represented by attorney Nick Deets of the Indianapolis firm Hovde Dassow & Deets LLC.

Posted by Nicholas C. Deets | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Malpractice

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Indianapolis, September 10, 2009 - Three lawyers from Hovde Dassow & Deets were recently selected for inclusion in the 2010 Edition of Best Lawyers in America. Boyd Hovde, Rick Hovde and Nick Deets were each recognized as Plaintiffs Personal Injury lawyers for Indiana.

Best Lawyers is used as a guide by those looking for legal service providers in the United States. Lawyers are chosen for inclusion based solely on a vote of their peers. Listings cannot be bought, and no purchase is required to be included.

Posted by Nicholas C. Deets | Permalink | Email This Post

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On May 27, 2009, the Indiana Supreme Court issued its Opinion in Stanley v. Walker, 906 N.E.2d 852 (Ind. 2009), holding that Indiana's collateral source statute does not bar evidence of discounted amounts to determine the reasonable value of medical services provided to plaintiffs in personal injury actions. This decision reversed the decision of the Indiana Court of Appeals which had held that I.C. 34-44-1-2 barred this evidence because the write-downs were the result of health insurance which had been purchased by the Plaintiff. Justices Dickson and Rucker issued a persuasive dissent agreeing with the decision of the Court of Appeals and setting forth the long history of Indiana law on determining reasonableness of medical expenses. Several questions still remain after the Stanley decision including whether it will be applied to write-downs required by Medicare and whether plaintiffs will be allowed to introduce evidence of the amounts they paid for health insurance to obtain this benefit and the increases in their health insurance rates going forward which may result from their injuries.

Posted by Nicholas C. Deets | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto Accidents

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Nick Deets, an attorney with Hovde Dassow and Deets LLC in Carmel, Indiana, obtained a verdict of $875,000 for Stacey Riley in her medical malpractice claim against Dr. Paul Kwo in the Boone Circuit Court on June 27, 2009. The claim arose out of Stacey's post-operative visit with Dr. Kwo on July 1, 2003 where she complained of blurred vision, a twitching lip, a tingling arm, was a smoker on birth control and had a blood pressure reading of 180/100. Stacey claimed that Dr. Kwo should have made a referral to the emergency room or her primary care physician based upon these symptoms. Dr. Kwo did not make a referral and Stacey suffered a massive stroke the next day which permanently affected her speech and right-sided motor skills.

Posted by Nicholas C. Deets | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Malpractice

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A woman who was extensively burned in a fire in Crawfordsville Indiana died today. Crawfordsville Fire Department Assistant Chief Todd Barton said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Many unneccessary and preventable fires and explosions kill and severely injury hoosiers every year. The law firm of Hovde Dassow & Deets has successfully represented the victims in several of these unnecessary tragedies. We recently concluded the successful representation of the victims of an aluminum dust explosion which occurred at the Hayes Lemmerz plant in Huntington, Indiana in 2003. We are currently participating in the representation of several victims who were severely burned in a propane gas explosion at their home in Auburn, Indiana in 2007. The attorneys at Hovde Dassow & Deets have the experience and resources necessary to handle these unique and complex cases.

Posted by Nicholas C. Deets | Permalink | Email This Post

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On May 27, 2008, Senior Judge Hugo Songer of the Dubois Superior Court denied Motions for Summary Judgment filed by Defendants Jasper Memorial Hospital, Dr. Monte Sellers and Dr. Mark Sturgill in the claim brought agains them by Ruth Wessel in Cause #19D01-0709-CT-163. The Defendants had argued that Mrs. Wessel's claim should be dismissed because it was brought after the statute of limitations had expired.
The case arises out of Raymond Wessel's visit to the emergency room at Jasper Memorial Hospital on May 20, 2003 where his chest x-ray was read as demonstrating a mass by Dr. Sturgill and a CT scan was recommended. The Wessels and their family doctor were not notified of Dr. Sturgill's interpretation and recommendation until he was admitted to this emergency room again on March 16, 2005. After a 14 month battle with cancer, Raymond Wessel passed away on Mary 29, 2006 and his widow sought legal counsel and filed her claim on July 20, 2006. Judge Songer ruled that Ruth Wessel had filed her claim within a reasonable time given Ray's extended battle with cancer and his passing.
Ruth Wessel's claim will now return to the Indiana Department of Insurance where it will be considered by a Medical Review Panel. She is represented by Nicholas Deets of the Indianapolis law firm of Hovde Dassow & Deets LLC.

Posted by Nicholas C. Deets | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Malpractice

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Indiana is third in the nation in accidents involving cars and trains and Fifth in the nation in deaths related to those accidents. The accidents occur more often in Northern Indiana.

According to a 2004 report by the National Transportation Safety Board, there are 82,000 crossings in the country without gates. Gateless crossings are seven times more dangerous than crossings with gates.

Indiana was third in the nation in the number of motor vehicle accidents at gate crossings. The problem is only getting worse.

Last year, 20 people were killed at crossings -- seven more than in 2006. The number of crossing accidents increased by 24 last year -- from 137 in 2006 to 161 in 2007.

Indiana should make these crossings safer. The new gates need to be installed or substantially improved. The NTSB has said:

"The most effective option is quad gates. They have crossing arms that cover both lanes on both sides of the railroad track. In addition to preventing accidents by drivers who fail to see a train, they prevent drivers from driving around lowered gates. They are standard rail crossing protection in many European countries but are not widely used in the United States."

The problem needs to be solved quickly before more injuries and death occur at these unsafe in crossings in Indiana.

Posted by Robert T. Dassow | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto Accidents

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The Indiana Court of Appeals decided the case of Stanley v. Walker on Tuesday, June 5, 2008. In this significant Indiana decision, the Court held that discounts on medical bills that were obtained because the plaintiff had procured his own health health insurance were not admissible under Indiana's Collateral Source Statute. This means that Plaintiffs can claim the full amount of their medical bills and are not punished for having the foresight to purchase their own health insurance. This is a major victory for Indiana citizens seeking to obtain fair compensation for their injuries in auto and truck accident cases as well as other actions such as medical malpractice cases.

The decision may be read by utilizing the following link:

http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/06030803cld.pdf

Posted by Nicholas C. Deets | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto Accidents , Medical Malpractice , Truck Accidents

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In Indiana it seems more and more that there is not enough insurance to take care of people hurt in automobile accidents. The other driver too often has low or no liability insurance limits. Review your own coverages. Two critical coverages are medical payments coverage and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

Medical payments covers you and your passengers for your medical expenses regardless of who caused the accident. It is very inexpensive compared to any other health insurance.
Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage acts the same as if the other driver had liability insurance and pays you for the all of the damages you would be entitled to recover from the other driver up to the limits of the coverage. It also is much cheaper than the cost of your liability coverage and can be purchased in the same limits as your liability insurance.Indiana requires that this coverage be provided if you buy liability coverage unless you waive it in writing.

If you can afford liability coverage of as little as $250000 many insurance companies will sell you an umbrella policy of upwards of $1000000 that will give you significant additional protection.

Call your insurance agent. If he didn't explain all of this to you when you bought your automobile insurance call another agent or company. Protect yourself, don't rely on others to do it for you.

Posted by Frederick R. Hovde | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto Accidents

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The family of a Gary, Indiana teacher who was killed when her van was rear-ended by a semi-truck in May of 2008 has filed a $50 million dollar lawsuit against Schneider National Carrier and its driver, Justin Wallace of Pennsylvania. The victim of the preventable semi-truck collision had been a math teacher at Gary Roosevelt High School for more than 30 years.

The family's attorney filed a request for a restraining order against Schneider to prevent it from altering or destroying any of the evidence involved in the collision. Schneider could be found liable on the basis of spoliation of evidence under Indiana law if it destroys or alters evidence after such an order is entered. The family's attorney stated that he believes the crash was caused by Schneider cutting back on maintaining costly safety standards due to the high price of diesel gas.

Gary Post-Tribune, May 17, 2008

Posted by Nicholas C. Deets | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Truck Accidents

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