Kenneth J. Allen
Principal
Practice Areas
Serious Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Crash cases, and Work Related Injuries
Education
Valparaiso University with a B.A. in English
Cambridge University (England) where he was a member of the Boxing Team (C.U.A.B.C.).
Indiana University - Bloomington, where he was a Stephenson Fellow and received his J.D., cum laude (with honors).
Experience
Mr. Allen is a principal in the law firm of Kenneth J. Allen & Associates, P.C. The firm limits its practice to the representation of plaintiffs in serious personal injury and wrongful death litigation and maintains three offices in Indiana and Illinois.
He has been appointed as Class Counsel in several important cases including, In Re: South Shore Train Crash at Gary, Indiana on January 18, 1993, In Re: Nurseryland Bus Crash at Gary, Indiana on June 25, 1998; In re: Truck/Train Collision at Portage, Indiana on June 18, 1998 and In re: Bridge Collapse at Merrillville, Indiana on July 4, 2009. He was appointed to Plaintiffs’ Discovery Committee In re: Air Crash Disaster at Sioux City, Iowa (United Airlines Flight 232).
Mr. Allen is a former Judge, pro tempore. He also is a 30-year member of the Carpenter’s Union and worked as a Piledriver and Millright (UBC), Teamster (IBT) and RR Trackman (BMWE).
Admissions
Mr. Allen is a member of the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Indiana and Illinois Supreme Courts and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Service / Community Activities / Awards
Mr. Allen and his wife are Leadership Donors and members of the national philanthropic group of United Way supporters known as the Tocqueville Society. This is the highest level of support among Leadership Donors of the United Way. Mr. and Mrs. Allen are also benefactors of numerous other charities, see Giving Back page.
Mr. Allen received the Fifth Annual Child Safety Advocate Award from the I.U. School of Medicine - Automotive Safety Program for outstanding dedication in forwarding the issues of child safety. He has been interviewed by CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, WGN, FOX, Dateline, Inside Edition, on Oprah and has been recognized in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in American Law.
Mr. Allen's cases have been listed in the VerdictSearch "Top 100 Verdicts in 2006" and USA Lawyer’s “Top 10 Verdicts in 2008,” recognized in Crain's Chicago Business, The Chicago Sun Times, Chicago Tribune, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. He has been named as one of the Leading Plaintiff Lawyers in America, The Top 100 Trial Lawyers by The American Trial Lawyers Association and named a Life Member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum -- The Top Trial Lawyers in America.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed due to the wrongful acts of another, then you may have a legal claim for legal damages as well as the right for justice against the wrongdoer and you are welcomed to contact the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland personal injury lawyers at Kenneth J. Allen & Associates to schedule a free initial legal consultation.
Reported Appellate Decisions
- Franciose v. Jones, 910 N.E.2d 862 (2009)
- Van Swol v. ISG Burns Harbor, LLC, 491 F. Supp. 2d 80 (2008)
- Florio v. Tilley and Calark International, Inc., 875 N.E.2d 253 (2007)
- Bond v. Walsh & Kelly, Inc., 869 N.E.2d 1264 (2007)
- R & D Transp., Inc. v. A.H., 855 N.E.2d 996 (2006)
- Recio v. GR-MHA Corp., 366 Ill. App. 3d 48; 851 N.E.2d 106 (2006)
- Allstate Ins. Co. v. Fields, 842 N.E.2d 804 (2006)
- Reliable Dev. Corp. v. Berrier, 851 N.E.2d 983 (2006)
- Walker v. Emplrs Ins. of Wausau, 846 N.E.2d 1098 (2006)
- Fifth Third Bank v. CSX Corp., 415 F.3d 741 ( 2005)
- Parks v. Guidant Corp., 402 F. Supp. 2d 964 (2005)
- Anderson v Griffin, 397 F.3d 515 (7th Cir. 2005)
- Madden v. INDOT, 832 N.E.2d 1122 (2005)
- In re Estate of Hammar, 832 N.E.2d 1065 (2005)
- Mesman v. Crane Pro Services, 409 F.3D 846 (2005)
- Monroe Guaranty Ins. Co. v. Berrier, 827 N.E.2d 158 (2005)
- Funston v. School Town of Munster, 822 N.E.2d 985 (2004), transfer granted 831 N.E.2d 748 (2005)
- Csicsko v. Hill, 808 N.E.2d 80 (2004)
- Woodley v. Fields, 819 N.E.2d 123 (2004), transfer granted, 831 N.E.2d 750 (2005)
- Messer v. Cerestar USA, Inc., 803 N.E.2d 1240 (2004)
- Fifth Third Bank v. CSX Corp., 306 F.Supp.2d 841 (2004)
- Strack and Van Til, Inc. v. Carter, 803 N.E.2d 666 (2004)
- Evans v. Buffington Harbor River Boats, LLC, 799 N.E.2d 1103 (2003)
- Wright v. American States Ins. Co., 765 N.E.2d 690 (2002)
- Indian Trucking v. Harber, 752 N.E.2d 168 (Ind.App. 2001)
- Kleen v. Homak Mfg. Co., Inc., 749 N.E.2d 26 (2001)
- Schmidt v. American Trailer Court, Inc., 721 N.E.2d 1251 (1999)
- Pluard ex rel. Pluard v. Patients Compensation Fund, 705 N.E.2d 1035 (1999)
- Barclay v. Universal Underwriters Group, 703 N.E.2d 169 (1998)
- Grand Trunk Western R. Co. v. Kapitan, 698 N.E.2d 363 (1998)
- Thiele v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 973 F.Supp. 1091 (1997)
- In re Train Collision at Gary, Ind. on Jan. 18, 1993, 670 N.E.2d 902 ( 1996)
- In re Train Collision at Gary, Ind. on Jan. 18, 1993, 654 N.E.2d 1137 (1995)
- Osmulski v. Becze, 638 N.E.2d 828, (1994)
- Precision Erecting, Inc. v. Wokurka, 638 N.E.2d 472 (1994)
- Voight v. Subaru-Isuzu Automotive, Inc., 141 F.R.D. 99 (1992)
- Allen v. Scherer, 452 N.E.2d 1031, 13 Ed. Law Rep. 128 (1983)
Articles / Journals / Seminars
Mr. Allen is a frequent speaker at Continuing Legal Education seminars attended by attorneys, judges and insurance claims professionals, and his presentations and publications include: Trying Auto Injury Cases (1991); Crashworthiness and Products Liability (1992); Insurance Bad Faith Law (1994); Tort Reform, Auto Cases and Premises Liability (1995); The ‘New’ Indiana Constitution (1996); Bad Faith Litigation In Indiana (1997); Achieving Success in the Practice of Personal Injury and Wrongful Death law (1998); Civil Discovery: Arguing the Tough Issues (2000); You’re On Trial (2001); Advanced Personal Injury Practice (2002); Personal Injury Settlements (2002); Superior Deposition Strategies (2003); The (Revised) Ten Commandments of Cross Examination (2005); “Chapter 7: Spoliation of Evidence” (co-author) Truck Accident Litigation, 2nd Ed. (ABA: 2006); “Chapter 32: The Trial–Developing and Utilizing the Theme” (co-author) Truck Accident Litigation, 2nd Ed. (ABA: 2006); Voir Dire: A Primer (2007); Insurance Bad Faith, Discovery and Assertions of Privilege (2007); Five Keys to Successful Cross-Examination (2008); Getting the Most Out of Your Evidence (2008); Building Your Civil Trial Skills (2009); Presenting Damages & Expert Testimony at Trial (2010); Trial Presentation in Trucking Cases (2010).
He is a Sustaining Member of the American Association for Justice, Indiana Trial Lawyers Association and Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and holds membership in the Indiana State Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association; Lake County (Indiana) Bar Association, Porter County (Indiana) Bar Association, the American Bar Association and is a Fellow of the Indiana Bar Foundation.