Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys
Biography
Frederick R. (Rick) Hovde is a founder of Hovde Dassow and Deets LLC and focuses his practice on the areas of medical negligence, car and truck accidents, construction site accidents, and injuries from dangerous consumer products all on behalf of plaintiffs. He has tried over one hundred ten cases to a jury verdict and obtained several maximum statutory verdicts in medical malpractice cases and several verdicts in excess of $1,000,000 in automobile accident, products liability, and insurance bad faith cases. He has handled many significant and complex construction, products liability, and accident and insurance claim cases. He has also been involved in a substantial amount of appellate decisions and authored a number or articles. Over the course of his career, Rick has received countless honors and awards in recognition of his legal excellence. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 2003, recognized as an Indiana Super Lawyer since 2004, is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, American College of Trial Lawyers, Indiana College of Trial Lawyers, Litigation Counsel of America, Indianapolis Bar Foundation. He is also a long time member of the American Association for Justice and American Board of Trial Advocates. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association since 1990, the Executive Committee from 1995 to 2003, and was President during the 2002-2003 term. He has been extensively involved with the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association legislative committee and it's efforts in the state legislature.
In 2019 he received the distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association.
Education
- Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis, Indiana
- J.D. - 1980
- Honors: cum laude
- Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas
- B.B.A. - 1977
- Major: Business
Fraternities or Sororities
- Phi Delta Theta
- Phi Delta Phi
Representative Cases
- Hinshaw v. Board of Com'rs of Jay County, 611 N.E.2d 637, 1993, Ind., 1993081599
- State Sec. Ins. Co. v. Ottinger, 487 N.E.2d 446, 1985, Ind. App. 2 Dist., 1986100509
- Hottinger v. Trugreen Corp., 665 N.E.2d 593, 1996, Ind. App., 1996110254
- Schimizzi v. Illinois Farmers Ins. Co., 928 F.Supp. 760, 1996, N.D. Ind., 1996126038
- Kennedy v. Guess, 806 NE2d 776, 2004, IND
- Balfour v. Kimberly Home Health Care, 830 NE2d 145, 2005, Ind. App.
- Alli v. Eli Lilly & Co., 854 NE2d 372, 2006, Ind. App.
- State Security Ins. Co. v. Otlinger (1985) 487 N.E. 2d 446
- Welch v. Young (2011) 950 N.E.2d 1283
Professional Associations
- American Association for Justice formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Sustaining Member, 1988 to Present
- Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, Member, Board of Directors, 1990 to Present
- Indiana State Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section, Director, 1982 to 1986
- Indianapolis Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section, Director, 1986 to 1989
- American Board of Trial Advocates, Member, 1992 to Present
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Former Member
- Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, Past President, 2002 to 2003
- Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, Executive Committee, 1995 to 2003
- American Bar Association
- Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, Legislative committee, Chairman
- Litigation Counsel of America
Practice Areas
- Medical Negligence
- Car and Truck Accidents
- Construction Site Accidents
- Products Liability
Honors
- Fellow, Indiana College of Trial Lawyers, 1993
- Fellow, Indianapolis Bar Foundation, 1992
- Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers, 2000
- Best Lawyers in America, 2009
- Indiana SuperLawyer, 2004
- Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, 2007
- Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America, 2009
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Indiana Trial Lawyers Association 2019
Bar Admissions
- Indiana, 1980
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana, 1980
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Indiana, 1980
- U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 1980
- U.S. Federal Courts, 1980
Published Works
- Medical Malpractice in Indiana, National Business Institute Indiana, 1990
- Civil Trial Practice, Practice Skills, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Foundation, 1988
- Health Care Evidence in Low-Impact Injury, Professional Education Systems, 1992
- Litigating TMJ, Back and Neck Injury Cases, Professional Education Systems, 1993
- Analysis of Indiana Tort Reform 1995; the Effects of House Enrolled Act 1741, Indiana Law Review, Vol. 29, No. 2, 1995
- Punitive Damages, Indiana Continuing Legal Education, 1996
- Bad Faith, Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, 1996
Pro-Bono Activities
- Indiana Bar Foundation