Indiana Injury Lawyer Blog

In Babes Showclub v. Lair, plaintiff, an Indianapolis police officer, responded to a complaint at a show club and was assaulted by an intoxicated underage male.  The officer filed a complaint against the club, alleging negligence and a violation of Indiana’s Dram Shop Laws.  After a thorough analysis of Indiana case law, the Court held that all of the officer’s claims were precluded by the fireman’s rule, which provides that professionals, whose occupations expose them to particular risks, may not hold another negligent for creating the situation to which they respond in their professional capacity (quoting Koehm v. Deveraux, 495 N.E.2d 211 (Ind. App. 1986).  Babes Showclub v. Lair, 901 N.E.2d 44 (Ind. App. 2009). 

In Ramirez v. Wilson, a semi-tractor collided head-on with a pregnant woman’s car.  She was killed, and her daughter S.R. died in utero.  S.R.’s father filed a complaint for the wrongful death of the unborn child.  The Court found that although S.R. was a viable, full-term fetus, under Indiana precedent, a fetus is not a child for purposes of the wrongful death statute and the driver was appropriately entitled to judgment as a matter of law on S.R.’s father’s claim for the unborn child’s wrongful death.  Ramirez v. Wilson, 901 N.E.2d 1 (Ind. App. 2009).

When handling personal injury claims, plaintiffs’ counsel often address the resolution of subrogation liens, including those asserted by Medicare.  Under federal statutes, Medicare is entitled to reimbursement when an injured Medicare recipient receives benefits which are later recovered through a settlement or judgment.  New legislation has now given Medicare an effective – and harsh – means of recovering its subrogation lien.In 2007 the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act (the “Act”) was signed into law, placing new and more detailed requirements on liability insurance companies in claims dealing with Medicare recipients.  This 2007 Amendment, effective July 1, 2009, is the counterpart to the 2003 Amendment, which focused on plaintiffs and their attorneys.  The 2007 Act increases the enforcement power for Medicare reimbursement by extending liability to insurers and adding damages, penalties and fines for noncompliance.

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