That does not mean violent road rage incidents are not actionable and compensable, but your injury lawyer will have to carefully examine the facts of the case to identify defendants, determine theories of liability and find out whether there is a means to actually collect on whatever damages may be won.

Indiana Worst for Road Rage Fatal Injuries

Indiana was recently ranked the worst state for road rage by the Auto Insurance Center, which determined 10 percent of fatal crashes in Indiana between 2005 and 2015 involved road rage and aggressive driving. Troopers say drivers who commit road rage are either ignorant of the law or do not care. Even those in marked patrol cars say they have been targeted by road rage. more The Tribune Star in Terre Haute reported recently on numerous cases of serious and deadly road rage in Indiana. Those included a 31-year-old shot and killed in Indianapolis after two drivers who both flipped each other off, drew guns and fired. Another case involved a 26-year-old man arrested in Plainfield on a charge of felony intimidation after allegedly pointing a handgun at a woman driving her children on I-70. In Fort Wayne, a 27-year-old man faces involuntary manslaughter charges for allegedly in a road rage incident beating a 60-year-old man who died soon thereafter of a heart attack. In Terre Haute, a 52-year-old man was arrested for allegedly intentionally running vehicles off the roadway.

Indiana Road Rage Case Weighed on Appeal

In 2008, the Indiana Court of Appeal considered a road rage injury lawsuit that is instructive with regard to future cases. In Clark and Biddle v. Simbeck, defendants had been drinking alcohol with friends, ran out of cigarettes and decided to go to the store to purchase more. After they left, the driver in the vehicle ended up behind plaintiffs’ vehicle. Defendants vehicle was following so closely, plaintiffs became concerned. Defendant driver reportedly started playing “a game” by pulling alongside plaintiffs, slowing down or increasing speed to confuse him. Finally, defendants passed plaintiffs and proceeded down the road, weaving from side to side. Plaintiff passenger called police to report defendant driver was potentially endangering motorists. Plaintiff passenger told her husband, who was driving, to follow defendants’ vehicle until the police arrived, and also not to drive home so that defendants wouldn’t learn where they lived.

When defendants reached their destination and exited, plaintiff driver got out and began yelling. The two men attacked both plaintiffs, severely injuring the male driver. The pair were arrested and and criminally charged with multiple criminal counts, of which they were later convicted.

Subsequently, plaintiffs filed this Indiana road rage injury lawsuit, alleging liability for their injuries. At a bench trial, plaintiff driver was awarded about $739,000 and plaintiff passenger was awarded $26,000. Defendants were also ordered to pay $60,000 each in punitive damages.

Defendants appealed, arguing the trial court was wrong for denying a motion for continuance when it was plaintiffs – not them – who caused the greatest delay. However, as noted by the court, delays were mostly due to surgeries and healing necessitated by the attack. Appellate court disagreed trial court abused its discretion on this point. Further, the court noted that defendants, who were pro se litigants and argued they were prejudiced by a bench rather than jury trial on the issue of comparative fault, never raised the issue of comparative fault. This is allowed under Ind. Code 34-52-2-1 and applicable to intentional tort cases. However, the law does state that with intentional torts, the Indiana Comparative Fault Act does not impact a defendant’s liability, but it can decrease the amount of plaintiff’s damages.

As our Highland injury attorneys can point out, because this case involved an intentional tort, the defendants were held personally liable for the damages awarded. That means there was no insurance company that is going to step in and pay the claim, so it’s questionable whether plaintiffs will actually collect those damages in full. However, given the severity of their injuries, personal injury lawyers clearly thought the case still worth pursuing.

Indiana Injury Attorney Burton A. Padove handles personal injury claims throughout northern Indiana, including Highland, Gary and Hammond. Additional Resources: Hoosier road rage common, sometimes fatal, Sept. 15, 2018, By Lisa Trigg, Tribune Star

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Beyond that, there are a number of steps crash victims need to take in order to not only preserve their health but also preserve their rights and possible future civil claim. Indiana is a “fault” state when it comes to crashes, meaning you don’t have to recover personal injury protection benefits or meet a serious injury threshold before you can pursue damages against the at-fault driver. (This differs from the regulations in many no-fault auto accident states.)

Following these steps will help ensure you have evidence to substantiate your grounds for damages.

• Stop your vehicle. IC 9-26-1.1.1 requires every motorist involved in a crash – regardless of fault – to stop and stay as close to the scene as possible to allow for an exchange of names, registration numbers, driver’s licenses, and insurance information. In the event of an accident that results in injury or death, one is required to remain on scene to provide reasonable assistance to those injured or entrapped (i.e., call police, 911, etc.) and immediately give notice of the accident to law enforcement. Knowingly avoiding compliance is a misdemeanor, assuming no one is injured, but a hit-and-run is a felony if the crash involved an injury or death (again, regardless of fault).
• Call the police. As noted above, this is required if there is a serious injury or death, but it’s a good idea even if it doesn’t appear there are severe injuries because the report generated can be submitted to insurers as independent proof of your claim for damages.
• Make an accurate record. If the officer asks if you are injured and you aren’t sure, say you aren’t sure, rather than no. Sometimes crash-related injuries aren’t immediately apparent.
• Take photographs. Almost everyone now has smartphones that are equipped with cameras. It’s a smart idea after a collision to take some pictures of the scene, your vehicle, and the other vehicle. You should not interfere with the ongoing police investigation, but having your own evidence of the scene could later prove invaluable.
• Seek medical attention. This should be No. 1 on your list if you or someone else in either vehicle is seriously injured. It’s important to appreciate, though, that not all injuries are apparent right away. Sometimes people don’t report feeling any real pain until two or three days after the crash, particularly with injuries like whiplash and even traumatic brain injuries. Even relatively low-impact crashes could result in severe damage to your back or spinal cord. If you have lost consciousness for any amount of time, seeking medical attention is imperative, since this is indicative of a concussion or other closed head injury, which could worsen if not treated.
• Report the accident. Your insurance company should be notified as soon as possible. Most insurers require both immediate reporting and full cooperation. Many Indiana auto insurance policies offer medpay, which will cover medical bills for yourself and your passengers. If your auto insurance company has reason to believe the other party was at-fault, they can put a subrogation lien on those bills (which must be reduced by one-third to account for your attorney’s fees), and that will stake your insurer’s right to reclaiming their medical bill losses, which will be paid by the at-fault party’s insurer.
• Keep a file. You will want to stay organized, so keep all your crash-related documents and other information together in a single location.
• Contact an attorney. A Northern Indiana car accident attorney can help you protect your rights and help ensure valuable evidence isn’t destroyed. Insurers often want you to make a statement right away; consulting with an attorney first is important because he or she is going to know the issues that may arise and how to protect your chances of being fully compensated.

Indiana Injury Attorney Burton A. Padove handles personal injury claims throughout northern Indiana, including Highland, Gary and Hammond. Additional Resources: 10 Things You Need to Do After a Car Accident, Staff Report, WISHTV

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