Top Indiana Personal Injury Verdicts and Settlements

$159 Million Verdict for Woman Left Quadriplegic by Drunk Driver Doing 79 in a 40 Zone

On October 18, 2020 Ryann Early, drunk and doing about 79 mph in a 40 zone, crossed into oncoming traffic on Albert S. White Drive in Whitestown and hit Sherry Schnee head-on. She broke her neck and is quadriplegic. He went to prison. On January 11, 2024 a Boone County jury awarded her $84,000,000 and her husband $75,000,000. Early is an individual with no insurer identified, and his own lawyer said afterward he wished there were actual dollars behind the number.

After trial: The verdict stands as returned, and no appeal of the civil judgment has been reported. Collection is unlikely: Ryann Early is serving a six-year sentence and no insurer has been named. See more

$157 Million Jury Verdict for Widow of Man Killed by Defective Ol' Man Tree Stand

A Tippecanoe County jury awarded $157 million to the widow of Timothy Simonton, a 42-year-old Indiana man who died in October 2005 after the locking pins on an Ol' Man tree stand failed and left him hanging from a tree during a deer-scouting outing.

After trial: None of the three defendant companies, including tree stand maker TSR Inc. and its predecessor L&L Enterprises, appeared to contest the case at trial, and L&L's own registered agent said he had not been involved with the company for about a year. The defendants appear to have been out of business by the time of the 2009 verdict, making the judgment largely uncollectable.

$66.5 Million Settlement for 262 Patients Given Unnecessary Cardiac Procedures by Indiana Cardiologist

CohenMalad recovered $66.5 million on behalf of 262 patients who alleged that Dr. Arvind Gandhi and Cardiology Associates of Northwest Indiana implanted pacemakers and defibrillators and performed open-heart surgeries that were never medically necessary.

Biomet Agrees to Pay at Least $56 Million to Settle About 1,000 Federal M2a Magnum Metal Hip Claims

In early 2014, Biomet agreed to pay at least $56 million to settle about 1,000 federal lawsuits over its M2a 38 and M2a Magnum metal-on-metal hip implants, consolidated in the Northern District of Indiana. Qualifying patients who had the device revised received a base award of $200,000, adjusted by individual factors. Thomas Anapol was court-appointed Co-Lead Counsel with W. Mark Lanier and signed the agreement for the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee. The figure covers many unrelated plaintiffs, is a reported minimum rather than a final total, and is not itemized by person.

After trial: This was a private settlement with no appeal found. The $56 million figure is the reported minimum, made up of a $50 million escrow payment and a $6 million attorney fee fund, and the final total was not disclosed. See more

$55 Million Settlement for 282 Indiana Patients Given Unnecessary Sinus Surgeries by Dr. Mark Weinberger

CohenMalad partner David Cutshaw co-led a $55 million Indiana Patient's Compensation Fund settlement for 282 patients who underwent unnecessary or damaging sinus surgeries performed by Dr. Mark Weinberger, a Merrillville ENT who later fled the country and was found hiding in the Italian Alps.

$42.5 Million Verdict for Motorcyclist Left with Severe Brain Injury After Tesla Employee Made Illegal Turn

A Marion County jury in March 2024 awarded $60.7 million to motorcyclist Christopher Dugan after a Tesla service manager crossed double yellow lines and struck him, leaving him with a permanent traumatic brain injury and a partial foot amputation; comparative fault reduced the net award to $42.5 million.

After trial: The jury found $60.7 million in damages and the rider 30 percent at fault, a net judgment of about $42.5 million. The Indiana Court of Appeals ordered a new damages trial over the judge's private exchange with the deadlocked jury; the Indiana Supreme Court then granted transfer and heard argument on June 30, 2026, and its decision is pending.

$32.5 Million Verdict Over a Jackknifed Semi Left in the Median Without Warning Triangles

A Lake County jury awarded Kristen Zak $32.5 million after a J.B. Hunt Transport semi-truck jackknifed in the median of Interstate 65 during a snowstorm and was left without warning triangles, and the car she was riding in struck the wreck about an hour later, leaving her with permanent brain damage.

After trial: The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the $32.5 million judgment in full. No further appeal is reported.

$30.7 Million Verdict After Three Brothers Fell Through the Ice on a Condominium Community's Lake

On the morning of March 11, 2001, three brothers went through the ice on Lake Holiday inside the Lakes of the Four Seasons, a gated condominium community in Crown Point, Indiana. One 11-year-old drowned, his 10-year-old brother was pulled out with a traumatic brain injury, and the third boy, the drowned child's twin, was rescued by a diver. At trial in February 2011 the family's lawyers showed that an overflow crib circulating water beneath the surface had thinned the ice at that spot while staying invisible from shore, and that the property owners association had posted no warning sign, put up no barrier and kept no rescue equipment at the lake. A Lake Circuit Court jury assigned all of the fault to the association and awarded $30.7 million, itemized as $25.5 million for the brain injury, $5 million for the death and $200,000 for the surviving twin. A news report at the time said an appeal was expected, and no published Indiana appellate decision in the case has since turned up.

After trial: A contemporaneous news report said the property owners association was expected to appeal the verdict, meaning the family would not see the money right away. No published Indiana Court of Appeals opinion in this case turned up in a search of the state's appellate records, so it is not publicly confirmed whether an appeal was filed, whether the case was later resolved privately, or whether the full $30.7 million was ultimately paid.

Newton County Jury Awards Indiana Farmer $30 Million After Semi Hits His Tractor on U.S. 41

Daniel Nelson, a farmer from Lake Village, Indiana, was driving his tractor north on U.S. 41 in Newton County on the morning of May 16, 2019, when a semitrailer that failed to slow down or change lanes struck it and threw him from the seat. He suffered head and brain injuries, a fractured pelvis and five broken ribs. Nelson and his wife, Diana, sued the trucking company, its customer and the driver, and after the case bounced between federal and state court on jurisdictional grounds, it was tried over seven days in Newton County Superior Court. On February 16, 2022, the jury deliberated about two and a half hours before awarding $25 million to Daniel Nelson and $5 million to Diana Nelson, a $30 million verdict that stood.

After trial: Counsel told The Times of Northwest Indiana that insurance would cover the verdict amount, which is the only public indication of payment; no satisfaction of judgment is available in an online record we could reach. No appeal of the verdict appears in Indiana appellate records and no appellate decision in the case has been published.

$25 Million Verdict for Widow After Drunk Driver Kills Husband on I-65

A Lake County jury awarded $25 million to Patricia Amsden after her husband Phillip was struck and killed on Interstate 65 by a driver with a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit, holding the driver, his employer, and two bars that served him accountable.

$21.3 Million Verdict for Electrician Paralyzed by Garage Door Serviced Days Earlier

Electrician Ralph Parker was paralyzed from the chest down in April 2006 when an overhead garage door at an Indianapolis warehouse activated and pinned him against a beam. A Marion County jury found Professional Garage Door Systems 70 percent at fault for servicing the door a week earlier. The jury's awards of $26 million to Parker and $4.5 million to his wife were reduced by his share of fault, leaving $21.3 million.

After trial: The $21.3 million is the $30.5 million jury award after the 70 percent fault finding against the garage door company. We found no appellate decision or post-trial ruling and could not confirm whether the judgment was paid.

A $20 Million Verdict Over a Prolift Mesh Implant

A federal jury in Hammond, Indiana found that Ethicon's Prolift transvaginal mesh was defectively designed and inadequately warned against, awarding Barbara and Anton Kaiser $35 million. A judge reduced the punitive damages, leaving a $20 million verdict that the Seventh Circuit affirmed in full in 2020.

After trial: The Seventh Circuit affirmed the $20 million judgment in full on January 14, 2020, rejecting Ethicon's design-defect and failure-to-warn arguments on appeal. No further appeal has been reported.

Indiana Jury Awards Neurosurgeon $16.95 Million After Career-Ending Fall on a Hospital Pantry Floor

After a neurosurgeon slipped on a wet hospital pantry floor and developed reflex sympathetic dystrophy that ended his surgical career, an Evansville jury found St. Mary's Medical Center fully at fault and awarded $16.95 million, a verdict the Indiana Court of Appeals later affirmed.

Union Carpenter Disabled by 4,160-Volt Shock at IPL Plant Wins $20 Million Jury Verdict, $12.2 Million After Fault

A Marion County jury returned a $20 million verdict, $12.2 million net after fault, for a union carpenter left permanently disabled after Indianapolis Power and Light issued a faulty dig permit that failed to account for a live 4,160-volt electrical line at its Petersburg power plant.

After trial: Net of fault: the jury awarded $20 million and allocated fault 60 percent to IPL, 30 percent to the employer Sterling Boiler and 10 percent to Simmons, so the net verdict was $12.2 million (The Indiana Lawyer). No appeal or payment has been reported.

Jackson County Pays $7.25 Million After Man Died Of Dehydration And Malnutrition In Jail Isolation Cell

Joshua McLemore, 29, died on August 10, 2021, after 20 days locked alone in a padded isolation cell at the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown, Indiana, where he had been booked during a psychotic episode linked to untreated schizophrenia. He lost about 45 pounds and, according to the federal complaint, slept roughly 15 hours in total over those three weeks before jail staff sent him to a hospital; he was transferred to a Cincinnati hospital and died there of multiple organ failure. His aunt sued Jackson County, the sheriff and jail staff in federal court on behalf of his estate, and in December 2023 the county's $7.25 million settlement was made public, reported as the largest known payout over a jail death in Indiana. Separate claims against the jail's outsourced medical provider were not part of that settlement.

After trial: The $7.25 million settlement covered Jackson County, Sheriff Rick Meyer and jail staff only. The estate reached a separate settlement with the healthcare contractor in March 2024, on terms not made public. See more

Jury Awards $7.22 Million After Tractor-Trailer Rear-Ends Car, Causing Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries

A tractor-trailer going about 50 mph rear-ended the Whiting family's car at a red light, leaving Harold Whiting with permanent brain damage and a spinal cord injury. The defendants conceded negligence, and a federal jury in Hammond awarded Harold $6 million, his wife Leatrice $1.22 million for loss of consortium and their daughter $80,000. The Seventh Circuit later affirmed the denial of a new trial.

After trial: The Seventh Circuit affirmed the denial of a new trial in June 2002, and no remittitur was sought, so the award stood. Ranks at the $7.22 million for Harold Whiting and his wife Leatrice (her loss of consortium); their daughter, also injured, was awarded $80,000 separately (decisions rule 16). See more

$5.6 Million Settlement After Mother, 23, Died in Indiana Jail Amid Nearly 20 Hours of Ignored Pleas

Jackson County, Indiana agreed to pay $5.6 million to the family of Ta'Neasha Chappell, a 23-year-old Louisville mother who died in jail custody in July 2021 after nearly 20 hours of ignored medical pleas.

Federal Jury Awards $5.6 Million to Indianapolis Worker Who Lost Four Fingers in Unguarded Roller

A federal jury in Indianapolis awarded $5.6 million to Ronald Hargis and his wife, Amy, after Ronald lost four fingers and underwent a dozen surgeries when his left hand was drawn into the intake rollers of a conveyor at Flutes Inc. The jury found the conveyor's designer, AJ Engineering, liable for leaving the rollers unguarded. The trial court denied the company's post-trial motions in August 2012.

After trial: The court denied all of AJ Engineering's post-trial motions on August 1, 2012. We found no record of an appeal, a reduced judgment or payment, and could not confirm whether the full amount was collected.

Valparaiso Woman Awarded $4.1 Million After Trucking Company Admitted Its Driver Ran a Red Light

A Porter County jury awarded Courtney Faulhaber $4.1 million after a B&W Cartage Company semi-truck ran a red light on U.S. 6 in June 2020 and struck her car. The company did not dispute that its driver caused the crash, so the trial turned entirely on how badly Faulhaber was hurt. The defense argued her head injury was a temporary concussive event and pointed to how little treatment her medical records showed, while her lawyers argued the collision left her with a lasting brain injury. The jury found for Faulhaber and awarded her $4.1 million, and it rejected a companion loss of consortium claim brought by her husband.

Marion County Jury Awards $3.9 Million to Teen Cyclist Run Over by Durham School Bus

A 17-year-old Indianapolis cyclist was hit and then run over a second time by a Durham School Services bus, leaving him with a fractured ankle and spine, a lacerated spleen and a degloving foot injury. A Marion County jury in October 2012 found total damages of $5.2 million and assigned him 25 percent of the fault, producing a judgment of about $3.9 million. The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed in 2014.

After trial: The jury found $5,200,001 in damages and put 25 percent of the fault on the plaintiff, so judgment entered at $3,900,000.75. The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed it in full on January 24, 2014, rejecting the evidence and excessiveness challenges. See more