Can a Non-Citizen File a Personal Injury Lawsuit

I’m Katelyn Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

Today’s question comes from a caller concerned about whether a non-citizen can file a personal injury lawsuit.

The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution extends the right to seek due process while in the U.S. to U.S. citizens, legally admitted residents, and undocumented immigrants.

Thus, citizenship is not a requirement for filing a personal injury claim.

A person who is in an accident in Indiana, can bring a personal injury lawsuit in Indiana, regardless of their country of origin or citizenship status.

That said, will a person’s immigration status be admissible in court?

Indiana Evidence Rule 401 deems evidence relevant when it “has any tendency to make a [consequential] fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence.”

Generally, relevant evidence is admissible.

However, relevant evidence may be excluded “if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of . . . unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence.” Rule 403.

In 2017, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that an unauthorized immigrant was permitted to file a lawsuit against a general contractor seeking damages based on a work-related injury under the Indiana Constitution’s Open Courts Clause in Ind. Const. art. I, Sect. 12 which provides:

All courts shall be open; and every person, for injury done to him in his person, property, or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law. Justice shall be administered freely, and without purchase, completely, and without denial; speedily, and without delay.

In that case, the plaintiff’s immigration status was deemed to be relevant, but due to a danger of confusion and unfair prejudice, the immigration status was excluded from evidence.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn