Indianapolis Jury Awards $25,000 in Rear-End Collision

On April 27, 2012, a 51-year-old plaintiff was driving west on the Sam Jones Expressway in Indianapolis when a vehicle driven by a defendant employee, who was on the job for The Boeing Company, rear-ended her minivan at a red light. Following the collision, the plaintiff reported pain in her shoulder, arm, lower back, right hip, and lower right leg.

The plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the defendant driver, alleging fault for the crash. Her husband also filed a derivative claim for loss of consortium. When it was learned the driver was working at the time, the complaint was amended to include The Boeing Company as a corporate defendant. The defendants disputed the extent of the plaintiff's injuries, presenting testimony from a defense orthopedic surgeon and a biomechanical expert, while the plaintiff presented findings from a physical medicine expert.

The case proceeded to trial in Indianapolis solely against The Boeing Company after the plaintiff's motion to dismiss the defendant driver was granted. Following a three-day trial, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, awarding $25,000 in damages. However, the plaintiff's husband received no damages for his consortium claim. The court entered a judgment reflecting the jury's decision, which the corporate defendant paid. The plaintiffs later filed a post-trial motion to correct error concerning the court's exclusion of evidence regarding a defense expert's financial connections, which remained pending.