Quick Bites – Personal Injury

December 19, 2017

Patton & Ryan was asked to defend a large logistics company and its driver after they were named as Third-Party Defendants in the federal personal injury case arising from a pile-up style accident that occurred on an interstate tollway located in Indiana. The rush hour accident occurred during the winter months on an icy roadway and arguably involved dozens of vehicles. The Defendants/Third-Party Plaintiffs were a logistics company and its driver who were named as the primary cause of the collision in the police report. In a naked attempt to spread their liability to other parties, they brought Third-Party Contribution Actions against the drivers of each of the five additional vehicles that were identified in the police report. However, Patton & Ryan invoked the law of Indiana, which does not allow for contribution claims of the type which were filed by the Defendant/Third-Party Plaintiff. The Federal Judge was inclined to hear arguments as to whether Illinois Law, which would have kept Patton & Ryan’s client in the case, or Indiana Law should apply. However, based on the strength of Patton & Ryan’s brief alone, the Defendant/Third-Party Plaintiffs all but abandoned their claim. Thus, Patton & Ryan obtained swift and final dismissal of all claims asserted against its client with extremely minimal expense to the carrier.