Litigation
Liquor Liability & Personal Injury / Wrongful Dealth Claims
Most people are aware that a drunk driver can be held legally liable to pay money damages when his or her intoxication results in the injury or death of another. But did you know that, under certain circumstances, any business or person who...
Supreme Court Clarifies Liability of Participants in Sporting Events
In a recent decision, the Indiana Supreme Court may have opened the door a crack to imposing legal liability on participants in sporting events. When Cassie Pfenning was 16, her grandfather took her to a golf outing. While he played, she drove...
Juror Misconduct in the Internet Age
One of the bedrock principles on which the jury system rests is that trial jurors must rely only on evidence and legal principles which they receive during the course of the trial, and are not allowed to resort to “extrinsic” information to...
Successor Liability Following Sale of Corporate Assets
Sales of corporate assets have long been a legitimate method of raising capital. Sometimes, they are the only realistic way for small businesses to stave off insolvency. Yet, in the current economic climate, disappointed creditors often...
The Pharmacist’s Duty When Filling Prescriptions: To Warn Or Withhold?
A recent case from the Indiana Court of Appeals describes a pharmacist’s duty in filling prescriptions, and warns of potential liability for failing to either warn the patient, or decline to fill the prescription in certain circumstances. In...
Lessons of Life…and Death
Scientific developments stay ahead of the field of bioethics law. As appears in Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly Fall-Winter 2010 Edition After teaching medical malpractice for 12 years, I have finally found my niche. For it is only after...
Won Summary Judgment Twice for Municipal Client
John P. Bushemi has successfully won summary judgment for the City of Hobart in two recent lawsuits. In the first case, plaintiffs sued the city in Lake Superior Court for claims that the city was negligent in locating its skate park adjacent...
The Current State of Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress (NIED) in Indiana
U.S. courts have developed three main common law tests to limit who can bring an action for the tort of NIED:Did the plaintiff sustain a physical injury?Was the plaintiff in the “zone of danger?”Was the plaintiff a foreseeable...
Successfully Opposing the “Apex” Deposition
A frequent litigation tactic by parties suing a business entity is the so-called “Apex” deposition, i.e. the deposition of a high-ranking corporate officer. Typically, the goal of an Apex deposition is not primarily to uncover information...
Medical Malpractice Arbitration Agreements
Would you like to better manage the risk of a medical malpractice or other healthcare-related litigation? Of course, the answer is “yes, but …” The “but” is usually related to the cost involved or the time commitment necessary to do so....
Successfully Represented Healthcare Facility
Robert F. Parker successfully represented a local geriatric healthcare facility in a trial in Porter Superior Court. A hospice worker came to the facility to attend to a resident, and fell at the facility’s entry, injuring her back and knee....