13 Investigates found the City of Indianapolis requests a jury to push some lawsuits out of small claims court.
INDIANAPOLIS — In the last five years, the City of Indianapolis spent $5.7 million to settle issues involving the Department of Public Works. 13 investigates found some times the city used a legal strategy that makes fighting for a claim more time-consuming and costly.
13 Investigates found the majority of claims are settled for less than a few thousand dollars. However, the city often requested a jury when people filed a lawsuit in small claims court.
“They shouldn’t force people who have no idea how to do this to go through all of that hassle,” said Lee Christie.
Christie received one of the 196 settlement agreements that 13 Investigates reviewed. The city approved them between July 1, 2018, and July 1, 2023.
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Those agreements totaled just over $5.5 million, however the Office of Corporation Council reported DPW settlements totaled more than $5.7 million during that five-year time. During a previous report about police settlements, the city said it maintained records a variety of ways which makes it difficult to calculate the exact amount spent on settlements.
The city reports it budgeted $105,000 a year for settlements up until 2022, when it budgeted $200,000.
In 2021, the city settled its biggest payout in the five years of records 13 Investigates reviewed – $2.1 million.
An Indianapolis family sued after a crash at the intersection of Kessler and Binford boulevards, claiming the city failed to fix broken traffic lights at the busy intersection for hours and that contributed to the crash.
On the night of April 2, 2016, court documents say a car smashed into the vehicle of a woman driving her three children. The lawsuit says the woman and two of her children received severe, permanent injuries. A 10-year-old reportedly suffered a traumatic brain injury and multiple injuries that led the child to be confined to a bed, unable to walk, talk, or feed himself. The case claims the woman’s 2-year-old son also has severe injuries, including a traumatic brain injury and lacerations to his internal organs.
The lawsuit says the city did not fix the broken traffic lights or secure the intersection for at least eight hours.
While records show the city did not admit any wrong in this situation, it did agree to pay $2.1 million to the family.
Big payouts are rare. Only 10 of the agreements 13 Investigates reviewed were for more than $100,000.
A 13 Investigates analysis showed pothole or road defect reimbursements made up more than 40% of the 197 agreements reviewed. The least expensive was $29.41. The most expensive was $200,000 and involved a motorcycle accident.
Still, most settlements were for $3,000 or less – including Lee Christie’s claim.
Submitting a claim
Christie said he hit a bad patch of…
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