As a general rule, an insurance company is not liable to an injured person for a judgment in excess of the policy limits of its customer’s insurance policy. However, this general rule gives way in certain circumstances where the insurer has acted with bad faith in...
Year: 2012
How Requiring Uninsured Patients to Pay Chargemaster Rates Impacts Personal Injury Cases
This week we revisit our discussion from December 8 on the role of medical expenses in personal injury cases. The rise for this return to our prior discussion so quickly is the Indiana Supreme Court decision this past week in Allen v. Clarian Health Partners, Inc....
Indiana Tort Prejudgment Interest
December 12, 2012, aside from being a numerical fascination, was a very important day in Indiana law. The Indiana Supreme Court handed down four companion decisions all attempting to expound upon an aspect of the availability prejudgment interest in tort cases under...
The Role of Medical Expenses in Personal Injury Cases: Stanley v. Walker
This week’s post is dedicated to a case from a few years back that radically changed the landscape of Indiana personal injury law. The case, Stanley v. Walker, may well not seem all that monumental without an in-depth understanding of the interplay between medical...
Contract Interpretation and the Parol Evidence Rule
As our posts related to contract law are among the most popular for the Hoosier Litigation Blog, I have decided to dedicate this week’s post to providing a brief overview of contract interpretation. Included within the gambit of contract interpretation is the legal...
Indiana’s Wage Payment and Wage Claims Statutes
As I stated in last week’s post, there was no question that the post needed to be dedicated to the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Butler v. Sears. That decision was such a major one for class actions that I felt it of great importance to address. That said, there was...
7th Circuit Provides Much Needed Clarification of Class Action “Predominance” Requirement: Butler v. Sears
Occasionally when I sit down to write my weekly blog post, I am left mulling over several equally worthwhile topics to cover. Other times, there is absolutely no question what the post ought to be about. This week’s post arises in the latter category. This past week,...
So You Think You’re an Expert: Intro. to Expert Testimony & Review of Carter v. Robinson
As I noted last week in our discussion of the Indiana Supreme Court decision in Robertson v. B.O., the issue I originally planned to discuss was the law on expert testimony through the Indiana Court of Appeals opinion Carter v. Robinson. After being asked whether I...
Advice to Young Lawyers/Law Students
As November rolls along, I find myself reflecting on what has been my first year as an attorney. One thing I have prided myself on in life has been the ability to learn from the mistakes of others without having to make those same mistakes myself. That certainly is...
Major Medical Malpractice Decision: Robertson v. B.O.
I had initially planned to discuss the law on expert testimony by way of the recent Court of Appeals medical malpractice case Carter v. Robinson decided on Tuesday. However, the following day on Halloween the Indiana Supreme Court handed down another medical...