Wrongful Death from Medical Malpractice in Indiana

• When someone you love dies as a result of medical malpractice in Indiana, you may be able to ease some of the financial burden of your loss with a wrongful death case, although a favorable outcome is never guaranteed.
• Indiana law imposes a number of serious constraints on medical malpractice wrongful death cases, including strict filing deadlines, hard caps on compensation, and the likely involvement of medical review panels.
• To help overcome these obstacles, get in touch with Hensley Legal Group, PC, which has had proven success with death and catastrophic injury cases, such as a $25 million verdict* for a collision with an ambulance.

*SPECIFIC CASE RESULTS. NO TWO CASES ARE EXACTLY ALIKE.

As painful as the sudden death of someone close to you is, the pain can be so much sharper when it is caused by somebody else’s thoughtlessness. This is especially true of a wrongful death from medical malpractice, in which a patient’s life is cut drastically short by the person who was entrusted to save it.

Although nothing can bring your loved one back, you could potentially ease some of the financial burden of a fatal medical mistake in Indiana through a wrongful death lawsuit or claim. Unfortunately, medical malpractice cases are among the most complex in civil litigation, and the complexity will only grow when the patient is deceased.

However, you may be able to tip the odds in your favor by becoming one of the many Hoosiers every day who choose to hire Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998.

Hensley has had decades of success with death and catastrophic injury cases, including:

• A $25 million verdict for a collision with an ambulance.
• An $8 million settlement for a delivery truck crash.
• A $4.25 million resolution for a pedestrian accident claim.

In recognition of these and other achievements, HLG has been named one of the Best Law Firms in the United States by Best Lawyers®, while its attorneys have earned inclusion in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Super Lawyers, America’s Top 100 Attorneys, and the National Trial Lawyers’ lists of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers and the Top 40 Under 40.

To discover what our skilled Indiana wrongful death attorneys can do for you and your family during this difficult time, please call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form for a free case review now.

What Is a Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Case?

The Indiana Wrongful Death Statute categorizes a death as “wrongful” if it is “caused by the wrongful act or omission of another.” When a wrongful death happens in the state, the “personal representative” of the decedent may be able to file a lawsuit or initiate a claim, assuming that the deceased might have done so as well “for the same act or omission.”

A wide range of incidents could justify an Indiana wrongful death case, such as a car, truck, or construction accident or the design, manufacture, or sale of a hazardous product. Yet with Americans living longer and longer these days and needing more and more medical assistance as they age, the chances of that assistance being harmful could go up, as could the chances of dying from it.

Currently, there are around 17,000 medical malpractice claims filed across the country every year, about 940 of them in Indiana, although the number of claims brought over patients who died appears to be on the rise. In fact, the Indiana agency responsible for paying medical malpractice plaintiffs recently reported a 12-percent increase in cases involving wrongful death.

Of course, an adverse medical outcome isn’t automatically a sign of malpractice, even when that outcome is death, since some illnesses or injuries can’t be healed regardless of the quality of care. The reality is that medical malpractice can only be said to occur when a provider deviates from the accepted “medical standard of care” by neglecting to treat a patient how other capable providers might have treated him or her in the same situation.

To be viable, any medical malpractice case in Indiana will have to show that:

• A duty of care was owed – By agreeing to treat someone as a patient, a medical practitioner owed him or her a duty of care.
• This duty was breached – The manner in which the practitioner treated the patient violated or “breached” the accepted medical standard of care.
• That breach inflicted injury – The practitioner’s breach of the standard of care inflicted injury to the patient.
• Damages were incurred – The patient incurred damages as a consequence of the medical injury that the practitioner’s breach inflicted.

And because there may be no worse injury or damage that could come out of incompetent medical care than death, a breach of duty by a caregiver that inflicts death is likely to constitute medical malpractice and could therefore serve as the basis for a wrongful death case.

Examples of Medical Malpractice That Could Lead to Wrongful Death

Although every medical malpractice case is unique, common examples of medical malpractice that could lead to wrongful death in Indiana include:

• Failure to diagnose, misdiagnosis, or delayed diagnosis
• Errors during surgeries or non-surgical procedures
• Improper or excessive administration of medication or anesthesia
• Avoidable birth injuries

Just as there are different kinds of medical malpractice, there are different individuals and institutions who could be guilty of it, such as:

• Doctors
• Nurses
• Paramedics/EMTs
• Therapists
• Pharmacists
• Technicians
• Hospitals
• Rehabilitation centers
• Nursing homes and residential care facilities
• Drug and medical device companies

In many instances, multiple defendants will share varying degrees of blame for a patient’s wrongful death, and a plaintiff could be forever barred from full recovery if every defendant isn’t pursued within the time allotted by law, known as the Statute of Limitations. Indiana’s Statute of Limitations is heavily influenced by the state’s Wrongful Death Statute, which mandates that an “action shall be commenced by the personal representative of the decedent within two (2) years.”

That can be a very narrow window in which to operate given how tough it often is to merely identify actionable wrongdoing along with everyone who played a role in it, and it isn’t the only stumbling block that an Indiana wrongful death case for medical malpractice may encounter either.

How Medical Review Panels Can Hinder Wrongful Death Cases in Indiana

Under Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act, you can’t simply go out and file a medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit in the same way that you’d file suit for a wrongful death arising from other circumstances.

Instead, a medical malpractice complaint must first be filed with the Indiana Department of Insurance, and 20 days have to be allowed to pass after that task has been completed before you or another party to your complaint can request the formation of a medical review panel.

Consisting of a non-voting chairperson and three independent healthcare providers, a medical review panel is charged with voting on the merits (or lack thereof) of a medical malpractice claim. Approximately 30 days after “reviewing all evidence” and undergoing “examination of the panel by counsel,” the panel will typically issue one of three “expert opinions”:

1. “The evidence supports the conclusion that the defendant or defendants failed to comply with the appropriate standard of care”;
2. “The evidence does not support the conclusion” above; or
3. “There is a material issue of fact, not requiring expert opinion, bearing on liability for consideration by the court or jury.”

Since the panel’s opinion is non-binding, you should be able to move forward with an Indiana medical malpractice wrongful death case no matter what it is, though a negative conclusion could still be highly detrimental because it can be admitted as evidence in court later on.

Other Challenges to Indiana Wrongful Death Cases for Medical Malpractice

Aside from the problems that a medical review panel might present, there are other major challenges to wrongful death cases for medical malpractice in Indiana, including a ceiling on how much can be awarded for them.

As explained in Sec. 34-18-14-3 of the Indiana Code, “the total amount recoverable for an injury or death of a patient may not exceed… $1,800,000.00 for an act of malpractice,” and that includes malpractice resulting in death. While $1.8 million certainly isn’t small change, it might end up being less than the deceased’s post-malpractice medical bills, not to mention the fiscal hole that may have to be filled when a family’s primary breadwinner dies.

Despite these concerns, no medical malpractice claimant in Indiana can receive more than this figure, and only a portion of it may come from the providers themselves. Indeed, the Medical Malpractice Act stipulates that Indiana medical practitioners and their malpractice insurance carriers never have to contribute anything over $500,000.00 towards a single case of medical malpractice.

Any damages in excess of that sum will have to be sought from a state-run program called the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund, yet another step that could add to your delays and possibly put the remainder of your settlement or verdict at risk.

Finally, the state imposes similarly strict constraints on the scope and allocation of wrongful death damages that anyone contemplating a claim should research in greater detail.

As you can see, the path to justice is rarely smooth after a wrongful death from medical malpractice in Indiana, but no obstacle is insurmountable when you partner with the seasoned Indiana wrongful death lawyers at Hensley Legal Group, PC.

What to Expect from Hensley’s Indiana Wrongful Death Attorneys

Once retained, our Indiana wrongful death attorneys will unearth the root causes of the deadly medical injury in question and everybody who may be at fault for it, then establish valid claims and/or file suit against them all after clearing every hurdle in the medical review panel process.

Our firm will also move swiftly to amass irrefutable proof of medical misconduct, subpoenaing provider and hospital records when warranted while coordinating our efforts with experts who can offer critical insights into relevant practices.

After assembling a rock-solid case against each of the defendants, our tenacious Indiana wrongful death lawyers will enter into exhaustive negotiations with their insurers for a settlement that reflects the entirety of your losses, including:

• Medical, hospitalization, funeral, burial, and estate expenses
• Cessation of economic support
• Psychological counseling (when applicable)
• Lost love and companionship

Indiana law may set hard caps on the compensation available for both medical malpractice and wrongful death, but Hensley’s Indiana wrongful death attorneys will always strive to maximize the value of your medical malpractice wrongful death case.

Our Indiana Wrongful Death Lawyers Will Be Here for You

Hensley Legal Group has been standing up for the innocent victims of negligence for more than a quarter century. If you’re struggling to get back to normal after losing someone you love at the hands of a careless medical practitioner, our Indiana wrongful death lawyers will be here for you.

You can schedule a complimentary consultation with an accomplished Indiana wrongful death attorney at our firm by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an Indiana medical malpractice wrongful death case?

When a death in Indiana is “caused by the wrongful act or omission of another,” the deceased’s personal representative may be eligible to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit or claim.

An Indiana medical malpractice wrongful death case is a wrongful death action that is brought when somebody is killed because of medical malpractice, which is said to occur when a provider harms a patient by deviating from the accepted “medical standard of care.”

How can medical malpractice lead to wrongful death?

Common causes of fatal medical malpractice include diagnosis errors, mistakes during surgeries or procedures, improper anesthesia or medication administration, or avoidable birth injuries.

And just like the causes of medical malpractice wrongful death can vary, so too can the defendants who may be liable for it, such as doctors, nurses, paramedics, therapists, pharmacists, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, and drug and medical device companies.

How long do I have to file a medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit in Indiana?

Any wrongful death lawsuit in Indiana has to be filed within two years of the date of death, and the timeline also applies to suits for wrongful death arising from medical malpractice.

That isn’t the only constraint on medical malpractice wrongful death cases though. Before a medical malpractice suit can be filed, a complaint must be filed first with the Indiana Department of Insurance, and then a medical review panel will generally have to be formed to vote on it.

What is a medical review panel?

A medical review panel consists of a non-voting chairperson and three independent healthcare providers tasked with assessing the merits of medical malpractice claims in Indiana.

The panel will typically issue its opinion within 30 days, and a plaintiff can move forward with a suit no matter what the opinion is, since it’s non-binding. However, an unfavorable conclusion could still have a detrimental effect since it can be introduced as evidence in court later on.

How much is my Indiana medical malpractice wrongful death case worth?

While it’s impossible to know in advance what a given case is worth, it should be noted that no verdict or settlement for medical malpractice in the state is permitted to exceed $1.8 million.

As large as that figure sounds, it might not cover the costs associated with some medical malpractice wrongful deaths, and much of it may have to be obtained from a government fund, but Hensley’s Indiana wrongful death lawyers will always strive to maximize the value of your case.