Articles

Justices: Claim not allowed under MedMal act

Because claims for emotional distress aren’t allowed under the Adult Wrongful Death Statute, a father can’t bring
this type of derivative claim under the Medical Malpractice Act, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled today.

Read More

7th Circuit: Insurer can challenge its duty to defend

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has lifted a stay imposed by the District Court in Hammond on an insurer’s declaratory
judgment action regarding coverage of a physician who skipped town instead of facing criminal charges and civil suits.

Read More

COA refuses to rule defendants get blanket immunity

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed that an arrestee brought to the hospital by police who was forced to have a catheter
to obtain a urine sample can’t sue the health-care providers under the Medical Malpractice Act. The appellate judges
also ruled the health-care providers weren’t entitled to blanket immunity.

Read More

Court considers broadening emotional distress ‘Bystander Rule’

Parties are waiting for the Supreme Court's decision following arguments in November in a case where a trial court granted and the Court of Appeals affirmed an award for emotional distress above and beyond the capped amount in the Adult Wrongful Death Statute as defined by Indiana Code 34-23-1-2.

Read More

Court: Medical record loss is negligence

If a hospital or provider loses records so that a patient can't pursue a medical malpractice case, the Indiana Court
of Appeals says state law allows that person to pursue a separate civil action for spoliation of evidence.

Read More

Immunity extends to underlying diagnoses

In a matter of first impression, the Indiana Court of Appeals concluded that a hospital's statutory immunity for reporting suspected child abuse to authorities extends to its underlying diagnosis.

Read More

High court splits in hospital negligence suit

The Indiana Supreme Court split on whether a hospital was negligent in letting a woman with injuries possibly caused by domestic violence leave with her alleged abuser, who killed her on the way home after being discharged.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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…

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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…

Read More