Another Significant MBCB Win: Victory for Indiana University

Mattingly Burke Cohen and Biederman, LLP (MBCB) is proud to share a significant appellate victory for Indiana University (IU) in The Trustees of Indiana University v. Chris Bradberry, et al. (No. 25A-CT-284). The Indiana Supreme Court denied transfer, leaving in place the Indiana Court of Appeals’ decision ordering summary judgment and a complete dismissal of all claims against IU.

By declining review, the Supreme Court cemented the Court of Appeals’ opinion as binding precedent, providing important clarity on Indiana’s sports negligence framework and the scope of liability for collegiate athletic departments, universities, and coaching staff.  The appellate decision affirms several critical legal principles:

• Broad Definition of "Participant": The Court rejected an "immediacy" requirement, ruling that specialized strength and conditioning coaches who plan and oversee training sessions are co-participants in the sport as a matter of law.  A coach does not need to be physically engaged in the specific drill or actively spotting an athlete at the moment of injury to invoke these protections.

• Rejection of Judicial "Armchair-Quarterbacking": The Court re-emphasized that ordinary sports conduct turns on the sport generally, not the microscopic nuances of a specific drill. The panel explicitly ruled that courts should not second-guess specialized coaching choices, even if a plaintiff argues a safer alternative protocol was available.

• Defeating Claims of Recklessness: To pierce the sports negligence framework, a plaintiff must demonstrate conscious indifference to athlete safety. The MBCB team successfully designated evidence showing that the coaches’ decisions were motivated by proactive safety concerns, defeating the high threshold required to prove recklessness.

Congratulations to Jonathan D. Mattingly, Hamish S. Cohen, Jeffrey N. Furminger, Jennifer W. Adams, Brian Weir-Harden and our entire Indiana University Legal Team on securing this significant outcome.

Read the full opinion here.