Filing a car accident lawsuit in Indiana

What actually changes when you file a car accident claim in Indiana: the two-year deadline, the 51% fault bar, the punitive damage cap, and the insurance rules, each cited to the governing statute.

ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial
Jun 4, 2026
6 min read

After an Indiana crash, the rules that decide whether you get paid, how much, and how long you have to act are set by state statute, not by the insurance adjuster on the phone. The broad steps of a lawsuit look the same in every state. This guide is about what changes when the wreck happened in Indiana.

The two-year deadline, and a much shorter one against the government

Indiana gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. That comes from Indiana Code 34-11-2-4(a)(1), which requires an action for injury to a person to be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrues.1 The same statute sets the same two-year limit, at subsection (a)(2), for damage to your vehicle and other property.2 The clock usually starts on the crash date. In the narrower case where an injury wasn't reasonably discoverable right away, Indiana's discovery rule can move the start date to when you knew or should have known you were hurt.

Miss the deadline and the court will almost certainly dismiss the case, no matter how clear the other driver's fault.

A separate trap catches anyone hit by a city bus, a police cruiser, a county truck, or any other government vehicle. Before you can sue a government defendant, you have to serve a formal tort claim notice, and that window is far shorter than two years. Against a political subdivision (a city, county, or town), the notice is due within 180 days under Indiana Code 34-13-3-8.3 Against the State of Indiana or one of its agencies, you get 270 days under Indiana Code 34-13-3-6.4 Miss the notice and the two-year statute won't rescue the claim.

How Indiana splits the blame

Indiana is an at-fault state that runs on modified comparative fault with a 51% bar. Under Indiana Code 34-51-2-6, you recover nothing if your share of the fault is greater than 50%.5 At 50% or less you can still recover, but your award is cut by your own percentage. If a jury values your damages at $100,000 and puts 20% of the blame on you, you collect $80,000.

That 51% line vanishes when the defendant is a government entity. The Comparative Fault Act doesn't apply to Indiana Tort Claims Act cases,6 so those claims fall back on old contributory negligence: if you're even 1% at fault, you recover nothing. It's a harsh standard, and it's one more reason government cases are handled differently from day one.

What you can recover, and the one cap that applies

There is no cap on compensatory damages in an ordinary Indiana crash case. Medical bills, lost wages, future care, and pain and suffering are limited by your evidence, not by a statute. Indiana's separate medical malpractice cap does not touch ordinary crash claims.

The one real limit is on punitive damages, the extra award meant to punish egregious conduct such as drunk or hit-and-run driving. Indiana Code 34-51-3-4 caps punitive damages at the greater of three times the compensatory award or $50,000.7 Then comes a twist most people never see coming: under Indiana Code 34-51-3-6, you keep only 25% of any punitive award, and the other 75% goes to the state treasurer for the violent crime victims compensation fund.8

The insurance rules behind your claim

Every Indiana driver has to carry liability insurance of at least 25/50/25: $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage, under Indiana Code 9-25-4-5, with the $25,000 property-damage floor in place since July 1, 2018.9 Those are floors, and for a serious injury they often aren't enough.

That gap is why uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage carries so much weight here. Indiana requires every new auto policy to include UM and UIM coverage unless you reject it in writing, under Indiana Code 27-7-5-2.10 The Indiana Department of Insurance sets the minimums at $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for uninsured motorist bodily injury, and $50,000 for underinsured motorist coverage.11 When the driver who hit you had no insurance or too little, your own UM/UIM coverage is often what actually pays.

Indiana is not a no-fault state, so there is no personal injury protection (PIP) requirement. The at-fault driver's liability coverage pays first. Medical payments coverage, which pays your own medical and funeral bills no matter who caused the crash, is an optional add-on rather than something the state makes you buy.11

Traffic laws that can decide fault

A handful of Indiana traffic laws surface again and again in crash claims, because breaking one is strong evidence of negligence.

Since July 1, 2020, Indiana has banned holding a phone or tablet behind the wheel. Under Indiana Code 9-21-8-59 you can't hold or use a device while the vehicle is moving, though hands-free use is allowed.12 It's a primary offense (a Class C infraction), and since July 1, 2021 a violation adds four points to the driver's BMV record. If the other driver was holding a phone, that's the kind of fact that swings a fault dispute.

When a drunk driver caused the crash, Indiana's dram shop law can reach past the driver. Under Indiana Code 7.1-5-10-15.5, a bar, restaurant, or social host can be liable if they served alcohol to someone they had actual knowledge was visibly intoxicated (or served a minor at all) and that intoxication caused the injury.13 Drunk-driving cases are also where punitive damages come into play, subject to the cap above.

Motorcyclists live under their own rules. Indiana requires helmets only for operators and passengers under 18 under Indiana Code 9-19-7-1, so adults may legally ride without one.14 Riding without a helmet is legal, but it can turn into a comparative-fault argument about head injuries. Lane splitting is illegal because a motorcycle is entitled to the full use of its lane under Indiana Code 9-21-10-6.15

Your vehicle and the crash report

Injury and property damage share the same two-year statute, but they're different claims. If your car was totaled or badly damaged, the drop in its resale value even after a proper repair is a separate loss you can pursue; our Indiana diminished value guide covers how that works.

The official crash report is written by the responding officer and filed with the Indiana State Police, the statewide crash-report repository.16 Get it early, because it captures the officer's first read on fault and the other driver's insurance. Here's how to get an Indiana crash report.

When to bring in a lawyer

You don't need an attorney for every fender bender. But once there's a serious injury, a fault split hovering near that 51% line, a government vehicle, or an insurer that won't budge, it's worth talking to someone who handles these cases. You can find an Indiana attorney through our directory.

This article is general information about Indiana law, not legal advice about your particular situation.

Sources

  1. Indiana Code 34-11-2-4(a)(1), Indiana General Assembly. https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/34#34-11-2-4

  2. Indiana Code 34-11-2-4(a)(2), Indiana General Assembly. https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/34#34-11-2-4

  3. Indiana Code 34-13-3-8 (tort claim notice, political subdivisions), Indiana General Assembly. https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/34#34-13-3-8

  4. Indiana Code 34-13-3-6 (tort claim notice, state), Indiana General Assembly. https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/34#34-13-3-6

  5. Indiana Code 34-51-2-6, Indiana General Assembly. https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/34#34-51-2-6

  6. Indiana Code 34-51-2-2 (Comparative Fault Act does not apply to government tort claims), Indiana General Assembly. https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/34#34-51-2-2

  7. Indiana Code 34-51-3-4, Indiana General Assembly. https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/34#34-51-3-4

  8. Indiana Code 34-51-3-6, Indiana General Assembly. https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/34#34-51-3-6

  9. Indiana Code 9-25-4-5, Indiana General Assembly. https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/9#9-25-4-5

  10. Indiana Code 27-7-5-2, Indiana General Assembly. https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/27#27-7-5-2

  11. Indiana Department of Insurance, Auto Insurance. https://www.in.gov/idoi/consumer-services/types-of-insurance/auto-insurance/

  12. Indiana Code 9-21-8-59, Indiana General Assembly. https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/9#9-21-8-59

  13. Indiana Code 7.1-5-10-15.5, Indiana General Assembly. https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/7.1#7.1-5-10-15.5

  14. Indiana Code 9-19-7-1, Indiana General Assembly. https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/9#9-19-7-1

  15. Indiana Code 9-21-10-6, Indiana General Assembly. https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/9#9-21-10-6

  16. Indiana State Police, Crash Reports. https://www.in.gov/isp/crash-reports/

About This Guide

Written by: ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial

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