Court rules on incurred risk in malpractice suit
The Indiana Supreme Court ruled today that, in general, incurred risk isn't a defense to medical malpractice based on negligence or lack of informed consent.
Medical malpractice
Articles
Testimony based on medical journals allowed
A physician testifying at a medical malpractice case should have been allowed to offer testimony based on her reading of medical journals, and a Marion County judge erred when he excluded part of her statements, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided.
Judges disagree if testimony is hypothetical
Indiana Court of Appeals judges disagreed over whether two doctors' expert witness testimony in a medical malpractice case used hypothetical language that couldn't raise a genuine issue of fact.
Attorneys challenge state’s med-mal cap
Two central Indiana attorneys have filed a challenge to Indiana's Medical Malpractice Cap, arguing the cap violates the Indiana Constitution. The challenge follows a jury verdict in which a widower won $8.5 million following his wife's death.
COA splits in application of statute in med-mal suit
The issue of whether the Journey's Account Statute applied to a woman's medical malpractice claim filed after the statute of limitations expired caused a split of an Indiana Court of Appeals panel.
Supreme Court grants 6 transfers
The Indiana Supreme Court granted six transfers Sept. 11, including a case of first impression involving a suit filed by a pathological gambler against a riverboat casino.
COA to hear arguments at college
As a part of its "Appeals on Wheels" initiative, a panel of Indiana Court of Appeals judges will visit St. Mary-of-the-Woods College Nov. 17 to hear arguments in a medical malpractice suit.
Justices to hear compulsive gambling case
The Indiana Supreme Court will hear arguments in three cases Thursday, including a suit in which a woman claims a casino took advantage of her gambling addiction. Arguments begin at 9 a.m. in Caesars Riverboat Casino LLC v. Genevieve Kephart, No. 31S01-0909-CV-303. Caesars originally filed a suit against Genevieve Kephart after she failed to repay a gambling debt. The casino sought repayment, treble damages, and attorney fees. But Kephart counterclaimed, arguing the casino unjustly enriched itself because it knew she had…
Lawyer entitled to $1.05 million default judgment
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a default judgment in favor of an Indiana attorney because an Illinois attorney demonstrated "contumacious disregard" for a trial court's orders.
Court rules on tort claims and wrongful death
The Indiana Supreme Court tackled the issue of the interaction of the statute of limitations provision under the state's Wrongful Death Act and the statute of limitations provision for an underlying substantive tort claim in two opinions released Dec. 24.
Worker’s comp claim bars med mal complaint
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the denial of a hospital's motion to dismiss a medical malpractice complaint because
the claimant, who was employed by the hospital and on duty at the time of the injury, could only file a complaint against
the employer under the Worker's Compensation Act.
Settlement may be largest of its kind: State agency resolves federal lawsuit that began with legal malpractice claim
An Indianapolis law firm has been holding its breath for two years. Ever since getting hit with a potentially devastating $17.9 million jury verdict on a legal malpractice claim in state court, the 45-year-old law firm Fillenwarth Dennerline Groth & Towe hasn’t been able to put the focus on its daily client business without acknowledging that dark storm cloud hovering overhead. Now, the storm cloud has dissolved. In what may be the state’s largest-ever liquidation return of its kind, the Indiana…
Sexual misconduct doesn’t fall under MedMal act
The Indiana Court of Appeals today affirmed a trial court determination that an employee's sexual conduct with a patient can't constitute a rendition of health care or professional services, so a negligent hiring complaint against a hospital based on that conduct doesn't fall under the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act.
Court upholds damages award
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court decision that excluded arguments and evidence from the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund relating to the survival rate of the decedent because their argument regarded liability, which had already been established through a settlement. In Jim Atterholt, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Insurance as Administrator of the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund v. Geneva Herbst, personal representative of the estate of Jeffrey A. Herbst, No. 49A04-0702-CV-106, the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund appealed the grant…
Incurred risk not malpractice defense
A doctor cannot use evidence of a patient’s previous surgeries or pursue an incurred-risk defense against a medical malpractice suit, the Court of Appeals ruled today. In Brenda Spar v. Jin S. Cha, M.D., No. 45A05-0611-CV-683, Spar appealed the jury decision in favor of Dr. Cha in her medical malpractice claim against the OB/GYN for a surgery he performed on her. Spar previously had been in a serious automobile accident and as a result had numerous abdominal surgeries. When she decided to…
Majority: hospital owed duty to patient
Indiana Court of Appeals judges were split in their decision March 12 regarding whether a hospital that performed a surgery on a woman with suspected domestic violence injuries should have prevented her from leaving with her ex-husband and alleged abuser, who later killed both of them on the way home from the hospital. At issue in Ava McSwane and Danielle Hays v. Bloomington Hospital and Healthcare System and Jean M. Eelma, M.D., No. 53A04-0705-CV-243, is what duty the hospital owed to McSwane’s daughter, Malia…
High court grants, vacates transfers
The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer to a case regarding whether the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund can introduce evidence of liability on an action seeking excess damages. The court also vacated a transfer in a case that involves an amendment to charging information that happened after the omnibus date. The court granted transfer to Jim Atterholt, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Insurance, as Administrator of theIndiana Patient’s Compensation Fund v. Geneva Herbst, personal representative of the estate of Jeffrey A….
Court upholds damages award against doctor
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a damages award to the parents of a stillborn child against a doctor, finding the trial court properly excluded opinion testimony from two treating doctors and a letter written to those doctors before the trial by the parents’ attorney. In Jeffrey L. Cain, M.D. v. Richard Back and Suzette Back, No. 20A03-0705-CV-225, Dr. Jeffrey L. Cain appealed the trial court judgment of $800,000 in damages to Richard and Suzette Back on their claim of medical malpractice.The…
COA to travel to Wabash College
The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear arguments Feb. 26 at Wabash College in Crawfordsville. Judges Patricia Riley, James Kirsch, and Melissa May will hear the appeal from Monroe Circuit Court of H.D., et al. v. BHC Meadows Hospital, Inc. at 3 p.m. In this appeal, the court is asked to decide whether the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act requires a juvenile and his or her parents to bring claims from a breach of patient confidentiality before a medical review panel prior…
$1.25 million med mal verdict affirmed
The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a $1.25 million jury verdict and in doing so ruled on three issues of first impression
that will likely impact future medical malpractice suits.