Indiana Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Appeal In Case Surrounding State Fair Stage Collapse

INDIANAPOLIS -- One family’s fight to challenge Indiana’s cap on how much accident victims can recover from the state is over.  The state Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal in a case surrounding the Indiana State Fair stage collapse.

Indiana’s tort claims cap, which sets the dollar amount for which people can sue the state, is $5 million total per incident, with a maximum of $700,000 per person. 

Jordyn Polet was one of dozens of people injured in a 2011 stage collapse at the State Fair.  Unlike the other victims, Polet, who suffered leg and ankle injuries, didn’t accept the state’s settlement offer, instead challenging the tort claims cap. The trial and appeals courts both sided against Polet and her family, and the state Supreme Court decided not to take the case. 

Attorney Tony Patterson, who represented Polet, says her family didn’t believe the state’s offer reflected the seriousness of her injuries.  And he says they have no regrets.

“They believed it was an important cause that this girl was pursuing on behalf of herself and others in the future that are involved in mass tragedies like this,” Patterson said.

Polet’s lawsuit against private companies involved in the stage collapse is ongoing.