Bobby Jean Avery-Kimball focuses her practice on civil defense litigation with an emphasis on claims of medical malpractice, premises liability and general negligence. She has successfully defended clients in jury trials in matters involving medical malpractice, premises liability and motor vehicle accidents. She has defended a variety of health care professionals against medical malpractice claims before the Indiana Department of Insurance and various Indiana state courts. Bobby has represented mental health facilities, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, hospitals, and individuals specializing in general orthopedics, family medicine, pediatrics, neurology, endocrinology, anesthesiology, pulmonology, critical care medicine, general surgery, interventional cardiology, cardio-thoracic surgery, orthopedic surgery, internal medicine, urology, obstetrics, and gynecology. Having defended medical malpractice claims for 20 years, Bobby has a comprehensive understanding of risk management concerns facing the health care industry.
Bobby is active in Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana and Indiana Society for Health Risk Management. She previously served as Chair of the Health Law Section of DTCI and a board member of the Indiana Society for Health Risk Management.
Bobby presents on topics including Challenges facing the Mental Health Industry in 2021, COVID-19 Immunity in Indiana, Practice Tips for Defending Against Excess Demands, Interested Third Party Insurer/Pro Se Claimants with Minor Compromises & Guardianships, Medical Malpractice Defense Litigation, Caselaw Updates for Insurance Professionals, Advanced Issues in Personal Injury Litigation, Cutting Edge Use of Cell Phone Technology in Civil Litigation and Jury Trial Tactics: A Juror’s Perspective.
She is a native of Tennyson, a rural community in Southern Indiana. Her personal hobbies include active participation in community environmental sustainability projects, Westfield Green Together, Westfield Kiwanis Club, Indiana Native Plant Society and Hamilton County Invasive Species Partnership.
Areas of Practice
Education
- Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Indianapolis, Indiana
- Dual Degree- Doctor of Jurisprudence, cum laude, Dec 2001
- Honors/Awards: Order of the Barristers, Dean’s List
- Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis, Indiana
- Dual Degree- Master of Health Administration cum laude, Dec 2001
- Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana
- Bachelor of Science, Political Science, cum laude, May 1998
Bar Admission
- State of Indiana, 2002
Representative Cases
- Sienkowski v. Verschuure
954 N.E.2d 992 (Ind.Ct.App. 2011)Successfully thwarted Plaintiff’s attempt to vacate judgment and obtain a new trial. In this case, plaintiff tendered affidavits of two jurors in an effort to impeach a verdict post trial. The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s denial of plaintiff’s motion to vacate judgment and refusal to consider affidavits of two jurors who claimed the verdict amount written on the verdict form was not the amount agreed upon by the jurors. The trial court had correctly ruled that a jury’s verdict may not be impeached by the testimony or the affidavit of the jurors who return it. The jurors’ claims that the verdict form did not reflect the intended total damages did not fall within one of the three recognized exceptions in Indiana Rule of Evidence 606(b). - Dishman v. Community Hospitals of Indiana
961 N.E.2d 545 (Ind.Ct.App. 2012)Successfully defended against appeal of trial court’s grant of partial summary judgment on issue of applicable wrongful death statute limiting damages for death of an adult without dependents. The central issue for the case evolved out of the death of an unmarried adult with no children. The estate of the decedent in a medical negligence claim alleged that the surviving great niece of decedent was a “dependent next of kin” and therefore the estate would not be limited to damages for last medical, hospital, funeral and burial expenses under the General Wrongful Death Statute. The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s grant of partial summary judgment agreeing with defendants’ arguments that the nature of the surviving niece’s “need for support” was not the sort of dependency contemplated in the GWDS.
Honors & Awards
- Distinguished Member in Medical Malpractice Defense Litigation, 2021 Awarded by Lawyers of Distinction
- Super Lawyers Rising Star in Medical Malpractice Defense Litigation, 2013-2016 Awarded by Super Lawyers
- Top Attorneys in Indiana Rising Stars, 2013-2016 Awarded by Indianapolis Monthly
Professional Associations & Appointments
- Indiana State Bar Association
- Indiana Society for Healthcare Risk Management (Past- Board of Directors)
- Indianapolis Bar Association
- Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana (Past- Membership & Publications Chair)
- Family Readiness Group- 1438th Transportation Co. INNG (Past- Gratuitous Volunteer Lead)
- Kiwanis Club of Westfield (Current- Board of Directors)
- Indiana Native Plant Society (Rescue Plant Committee)
- Westfield Green Together, Inc. (Current- Board of Directors)
- Maple Knoll Subdivision, Landscape Committee (Past- Chair)