CENTRAL INDIANA
Central Indiana car accident lawyer.
Attorney Jeffrey Kooi has been licensed in Indiana since November 2000 and handles motor vehicle injury claims throughout central Indiana — the I-465 loop, the I-65 and I-70 freight corridors, and the county roads that connect them. One attorney works your file from the first call to the final check.
No fee unless you recover. Evenings and weekends available.
CITIES AND COUNTIES
Where central Indiana cases come from.
Central Indiana is really two driving environments in one region. Inside and around the I-465 loop it is dense, fast, and heavily instrumented — signal timing, traffic cameras, and witnesses. An hour out, in Boone, Hendricks, Shelby, Putnam, or Tipton County, it is high-speed rural roads with two-way stops, no cameras, and sightlines that disappear once the corn is up. A Keystone Avenue claim and a county road claim are not the same case and do not get worked the same way.
Cases are filed in the county where the crash happened or where the at-fault driver lives. Marion County matters are heard in the Indianapolis courts; elsewhere in the region cases go to the circuit or superior court in the county seat. Venue can meaningfully change the value of an otherwise identical claim.
Communities served
This list is not a limit. Jeff is licensed in every county in Indiana — if your crash happened somewhere that is not listed, it gets the same review.
LOCAL CRASH PATTERNS
Where central Indiana crashes actually happen.
The road tells you what evidence will exist and what the insurer will argue. A weave-section collision on I-465 turns on lane position and closing speed; a rural intersection crash in Hendricks County turns on physical evidence somebody has to go collect. These are the corridors and conditions behind most serious injury claims in the region.
The 53-mile loop around Indianapolis, and the single most crash-dense stretch of road in central Indiana. Short weave sections between closely spaced interchanges force merging traffic across multiple lanes at speed, which is why sideswipe, lane-change, and chain-reaction rear-end collisions concentrate here — especially at the I-65, I-70, I-69, and Keystone interchanges.
The rebuilt I-65 and I-70 interchange just northeast of downtown Indianapolis. Traffic from two interstates compresses into a tight, heavily signed junction, and unfamiliar drivers making late lane decisions are a recurring cause of collisions.
The Chicago–Louisville freight corridor through Lafayette, Lebanon, Indianapolis, Greenwood, and Columbus. Sustained heavy truck volume, frequent construction, and sudden slowdowns produce severe rear-end and underride crashes.
The main east–west truck route, running Terre Haute to Indianapolis and on through Greenfield to Richmond and the Ohio line. Long-haul fatigue and high closing speeds make these among the most serious collisions in the state.
The Indianapolis–Anderson–Muncie leg to the northeast, and the newer southwestern route toward Martinsville and Bloomington built out of the old SR 37. Interchange configurations changed substantially during construction, and crashes in reconfigured work zones raise questions about signage, lane markings, and traffic control.
I-74 carries Crawfordsville–Indianapolis–Batesville traffic toward Cincinnati; I-865 is the short northwest connector between I-65 and I-465. Both are merge-heavy and see a disproportionate share of commercial vehicle collisions for their length.
The federal highways still doing daily work: the US 31 corridor through Kokomo and Westfield, the old National Road through Indianapolis and Richmond, and the two-lane routes connecting Lafayette, Crawfordsville, and Greencastle. Many stretches mix highway speeds with at-grade commercial driveways.
Keystone Avenue, Binford Boulevard, 86th Street, 38th Street, Michigan Road, Madison Avenue, and Shadeland Avenue. High signal density, heavy left-turn movements, and pedestrian and cyclist traffic make these the most common sites of in-town injury crashes in Marion County.
Boone, Hendricks, Hancock, Shelby, Johnson, and Tipton counties are laid out on a grid of high-speed roads with two-way-stop or uncontrolled intersections, seasonal sightline obstruction from tall corn, and no cameras. These crashes are often severe and frequently come down to physical evidence gathered at the scene.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway events, downtown convention and game-day surges, lake-effect and blowing snow in the northern counties, black ice on I-65 and I-70 bridges, and a deer-collision season peaking October through December. An insurer calling a crash unavoidable is not the same as no one being at fault.
INDIANA LAW
The Indiana rules that decide what your claim is worth.
Indiana law is less forgiving than most people expect, particularly on deadlines and on claims against public entities. Two crashes with identical injuries can end very differently depending on the rules below.
Two years to file suit
Most Indiana injury claims arising from a crash must be filed in court within two years of the collision. After that the claim is generally barred regardless of how clear the other driver's fault was.
Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4The 51% fault bar
Under the Indiana Comparative Fault Act your damages are reduced by your share of fault, and you recover nothing once your fault exceeds 50%. On a $100,000 claim, the difference between 50% and 51% is the difference between $50,000 and zero — which is why insurers fight hard over percentages.
Ind. Code § 34-51-2-6Government crashes follow a harsher fault rule
This is the most important thing to know about a claim against a public entity in Indiana. Claims against governmental defendants fall outside the Comparative Fault Act and are governed by common-law contributory negligence instead, under which even a small share of fault on your part can bar recovery entirely. A city truck, county plow, transit bus, or dangerous public road turns an ordinary claim into a very different case.
Ind. Code § 34-51-2-2Tort claim notice deadlines come first
Before suing a governmental entity in Indiana you generally must serve written notice of the claim — roughly 180 days for a political subdivision and 270 days for a State entity. Miss the notice and the two-year statute will not save the claim.
Ind. Code § 34-13-3State-minimum coverage is low
Indiana requires only $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash in bodily injury liability, plus $25,000 in property damage. One serious injury can exhaust that before discharge from the hospital, so identifying every applicable policy is central to the work.
Ind. Code § 9-25-4-5Your uninsured and underinsured coverage may be the real claim
Indiana insurers must include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on new liability policies, although you can reject it in writing. Many people carry it without realizing, and after a hit-and-run or an underinsured at-fault driver it is often the largest available source of recovery.
Ind. Code § 27-7-5-2Not wearing a seat belt is not fault
In Indiana, failing to comply with the seat belt requirement does not constitute fault under the Comparative Fault Act and cannot be used to limit an insurer's liability. Adjusters still raise it; it does not belong in the fault analysis.
Ind. Code § 9-19-10-7Hospital liens attach to your settlement
Indiana hospitals can assert a lien against a personal injury recovery for the reasonable value of care. Liens and health plan reimbursement claims are routinely overstated, and negotiating them down affects what you actually keep as much as the settlement number does.
Ind. Code § 32-33-4If a government vehicle or a road condition is involved, the clock is measured in months. Written notice of a tort claim is generally due in roughly 180 days against a city, county, or township and 270 days against a State entity — and those claims are judged under contributory negligence, where even minor fault on your part can bar recovery entirely. This is the fact pattern that most often destroys an otherwise strong Indiana claim.
FIRST STEPS
What to do after a crash in central Indiana.
- Get the crash report, and get the right one
Interstate collisions in central Indiana are typically worked by the Indiana State Police, while in-town crashes go to the municipal department or the county sheriff. The Indiana officer's crash report is the document every adjuster starts from, and Indiana requires a driver's report when no officer investigated a reportable crash.
- Be examined even if you feel functional
Adrenaline masks a great deal for the first day or two, and soft-tissue and closed-head injuries often present late. A gap between the crash date and the first medical record is the most common argument an insurer uses to discount a claim.
- Photograph more than the damage
Vehicle positions, skid marks, debris, sightline obstructions, signage and signal timing, and the crop line at a rural intersection. Away from the Indianapolis arterials there is usually no camera footage, so the record you make at the scene may be the only record that exists.
- Decline the recorded statement for now
The other driver's insurer will call early and ask to record you while you are still hurting and still missing facts. You are not obligated to give that statement, and giving it before anyone knows the extent of your injuries rarely helps.
- Serve notice immediately if a public entity is involved
Indiana's tort claim notice deadlines run in months, not years, and the harsher contributory negligence rule applies. If a government vehicle, a public bus, or a road condition may be involved, this cannot wait.
- Move quickly in truck and commercial cases
Commercial claims turn on engine control module data, electronic logging device records, dispatch and maintenance files, and post-crash testing records, all of which carriers need only retain for limited periods. A preservation letter has to go out before that data cycles out.
- Do not sign a release to get a quick check
Early offers arrive before anyone knows the cost of your treatment or whether you will fully recover. A signed release closes the claim for good, including for the surgery no one has recommended yet.
MEDICAL CARE
Where injured people in central Indiana get treated.
Serious injuries in the region are generally routed to the major referral hospitals in Indianapolis, with regional hospitals in Lafayette, Terre Haute, Muncie, Columbus, Bloomington, and Richmond handling the initial workup and much of the follow-up care. Where you were treated determines which records have to be gathered and read, and who will assert a claim against your settlement.
Liens and reimbursement claims are more negotiable than people assume. Indiana hospitals can assert a lien against an injury recovery, and health plans, Medicare, and Medicaid may all claim a share. Those claims are frequently overstated. Reducing what comes off the top can change what you actually keep as much as the settlement figure itself.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Central Indiana questions.
Licensed and practicing. Jeffrey Kooi has been admitted in both Illinois and Indiana since November 2000, and Indiana cases are handled here rather than referred to another firm. Cross-border claims — an Illinois resident hurt in Indiana, or an Indiana resident hurt in Illinois — are routine.
Marion, Hamilton, Boone, Hendricks, Johnson, Morgan, Hancock, and Shelby counties around Indianapolis, plus Tippecanoe, Vigo, Delaware, Madison, Howard, Grant, Monroe, Bartholomew, Wayne, and the surrounding rural counties. Jeff can file in any Indiana court, so the list is a description of where the calls come from, not a limit.
Significantly, and this is the single biggest trap in Indiana injury law. Claims against governmental defendants fall outside the Comparative Fault Act and are judged under old common-law contributory negligence, which means even a small percentage of fault on your part can defeat the entire claim. On top of that, written notice of the claim is generally due in about 180 days for a city, county, or township, and 270 days for a State entity. If a public vehicle or a road condition is involved, the case needs to be evaluated within days, not months.
Your recovery is reduced by whatever share of fault is assigned to you, and disappears entirely if that share exceeds 50%. If you are found 20% at fault on a $200,000 claim, you recover $160,000; at 51% you recover nothing. Because a couple of percentage points can swing a case from substantial to worthless, insurers invest heavily in arguing that you were speeding, distracted, or slow to treat. Early evidence — event data recorder downloads, video, and consistent medical documentation — is what keeps that percentage down.
Often not. Indiana minimums are $25,000 per person, which a serious injury exhausts quickly, but that is rarely the only coverage. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, resident-relative policies, umbrella policies, an employer's policy if the driver was working, and commercial or rideshare coverage can all come into play. Locating coverage nobody volunteered is a large part of the work.
Commercial carriers are governed by federal safety regulations, carry far larger policies, and usually have adjusters and defense counsel involved within days of the crash. There is also evidence unique to truck cases: engine control module data, electronic logging device records, dispatch and maintenance files, and drug and alcohol testing records. Those must be demanded and preserved early, before retention periods run.
No. Most of an Indiana injury case is handled by phone, text, and email, and documents can be signed electronically. When meeting in person makes sense, Jeff travels to you, including at home or in the hospital.
No. Jeff is licensed everywhere in Indiana and everywhere in Illinois, and reviews motor vehicle claims from any part of either state — northwest Indiana and the Gary area, South Bend, Fort Wayne, Evansville, and all of Illinois. This page exists because central Indiana generates a large share of the calls, not because it is a boundary.
BEYOND CENTRAL INDIANA
Licensed in two states, not one region.
Central Indiana generates a large share of the calls here, but it is not the extent of the practice. Jeff is licensed in every county in Indiana and every county in Illinois, and cross-border claims — an Indiana resident hurt in Illinois, or the reverse — are handled here rather than referred out.
Talk to Jeff, not an intake line.
Free, no-obligation case review for motor vehicle accidents anywhere in central Indiana. Most calls are returned the same day.