Indianapolis Medical Malpractice Lawyer

We trust medical professionals with our lives, which are becoming healthier each day thanks to the care available at exemplary Indianapolis facilities like Ascension St. Vincent and IU Health, yet that care could do more harm than good when it is incorrectly prescribed or poorly executed. 

Fortunately, you may be eligible to initiate a medical malpractice claim if you have been hurt by the actions of a healthcare provider in Indianapolis, though success is never guaranteed, particularly when squaring off against major hospitals and their insurance companies.  To tip the odds in your favor, get in touch with the Indianapolis medical malpractice lawyers at Hensley Legal Group, where we have been standing up for the innocent victims of negligence for over a quarter century. 

You can schedule a free consultation with a skilled Indianapolis medical malpractice attorney by calling our office at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form today.  

Do You Have a Viable Indianapolis Medical Malpractice Case? 

More than 17,000 medical malpractice cases are filed annually in the United States, including around 940 per year in Indiana, but it should be noted that a negative outcome after a course of treatment does not necessarily justify a medical malpractice claim.  Patients who seek medical attention tend to be seriously ill or injured, and the sad truth is that some health problems may not be curable no matter how excellent a patient’s care is. 

Usually, malpractice is said to occur when healthcare providers deviate from the norms of the medical community, commonly called the “standard of care,” by neglecting to treat patients how other competent practitioners would have treated them under similar circumstances.  If that deviation results in some form of personal injury, a medical malpractice case might be merited. 

For an Indianapolis medical malpractice case to viable, a plaintiff will have to show that:  

• A duty of care was owed – The provider took the plaintiff on as a patient and thus owed him or her a duty of care. 

• The duty was breached – The plaintiff was treated in a way that violated or breached the accepted standard of care. 

• This breach inflicted injury – An injury was directly inflicted upon the patient because of this breach. 

• Damages were sustained – The plaintiff sustained losses (damages) as a consequence of the injury that was incurred.   

Establishing every element can demand deep familiarity with the relevant treatments and procedures, along with comprehensive knowledge of the applicable laws and codes of medical conduct.  Moreover, any allegations of negligence related to a breach of duty must be backed up with rock-solid evidence, such as medical records, statements by other caregivers and witnesses to the malpractice, and testimony by practitioners working in the same field.  On top of that, this evidence has to be strong enough to overcome the natural inclination of judges and juries to assume that medical professionals generally act with the best of intentions. 

As you can imagine, this is not an easy feat to accomplish, but our Indianapolis medical malpractice lawyers are highly proficient at putting together complex cases of medical negligence and conveying them in a clear and compelling manner. 

Frequent Causes of Medical Malpractice in Indianapolis 

A medical injury can lead to permanent complications that make it harder to perform basic tasks, go to work, or enjoy the simple pleasures that we take for granted, so it is imperative to build a medical malpractice case that can get you the resources required to manage these shortcomings.  However, whether your case can prevail will depend heavily upon whether you can identify what a medical provider did that harmed you.  Every medical injury case is unique, though the some of the most frequent causes of medical malpractice in Indianapolis may include:  

• Failure to diagnose, misdiagnosis, or delayed diagnosis 

• Surgical and procedural errors (operating on the wrong body part, losing materials, etc.) 

• Inadequate or excessive anesthesia 

• Medication or dosage mistakes 

• Malfunctioning medical devices  

• Misuse of diagnostic equipment 

• Infections secondary to unclean or unsanitary conditions 

• Birth injuries 

• Physical, emotional, or sexual abuse by caregivers 

If you or your loved one should experience this kind of malpractice at the hands of medical personnel, our Indianapolis medical malpractice attorneys can advise you of the next steps to take against the parties who are liable. 

Who Can Be Liable for Medical Malpractice?  

This raises an important question: Who can be liable for medical malpractice?  You are probably inclined to think that medical malpractice defendants are chiefly doctors, but the reality is that a wide variety of individuals and entities could potentially engage in and be held accountable for malpractice, such as: 

• Doctors   

• Nurses   

• Paramedics 

• Pharmacists 

• Technicians   

• Therapists    

• Hospitals   

• Nursing homes   

• Rehabilitation centers   

• Drug manufacturers and distributors   

• Medical device makers   

Very often, multiple defendants could be culpable for a plaintiff’s medical injuries, and every one of them must be pursued within the time allotted by law, known as the Statute of Limitations.  If a lawsuit isn’t filed or a claim isn’t resolved before the Statute expires, the plaintiff could be forever barred from doing so – the sort of oversight that will not happen when our meticulous Indianapolis medical malpractice lawyers are on the case. 

Why Indianapolis Medical Malpractice Claims Are So Challenging 

Medical malpractice claims are among the most challenging in personal injury litigation regardless of where they originate, but the challenges are especially great in Indianapolis thanks to the restrictions imposed on these types of cases by the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act.  Passed in 1975, the Act outlines the process by which someone may be reimbursed for injuries associated with medical malpractice, and the hurtles that it can create might be too difficult for some injured patients to overcome. 

For example, before any medical malpractice case can go to court in the State of Indiana, it has to be brought before a medical panel composed of an attorney and three doctors, who share the defendant’s profession and might therefore be characterized as “colleagues.”  The panel will go over the facts of the medical malpractice case and make a determination about whether there is sufficient evidence that the standard of care was not met.  While a plaintiff could still move forward if the panel concludes that grounds for a medical malpractice claim do not exist, any jury that is later assigned to the case will nonetheless be informed of the panel’s decision, which could put the plaintiff at a disadvantage. 

Additionally, the Act caps how much medical malpractice claimants can receive.  When the Act was first passed, the total financial damages for a case could not surpass $1.25 million, though the ceiling is currently set at $1.8 million.   

The defendants might also not be personally responsible for everything that is due to the plaintiff, since the Act specifies that medical providers and their malpractice insurance carriers don’t have to pay out more than $500,000.00 for a single verdict or settlement.  Any damages that have been awarded above that number must be obtained from the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund (PCF), a state-administered program that was designed to address such overages. 

Admittedly, $1.8 million might seem like a lot, but it could end up being significantly less than a plaintiff’s medical bills in some instances, not to mention the long-term costs that may not be immediately apparent and the non-monetary damages that can sometimes be more enduring. 

Effectively, the Act can saddle you with one more burden when you may have already been forced to bear so many, but that burden can be lifted if you ask Hensley’s dedicated Indianapolis medical malpractice lawyers to be at your side. 

How Our Indianapolis Medical Malpractice Attorneys Can Help 

We have discussed how challenging medical malpractice cases can be, but they can be even more fundamentally insulting.  Not only were you hurt by the people whose job it was to heal you, which is insulting enough, but now you are expected to do battle with massive health systems, insurance giants, and a legislature that is obviously stacked against you, and all because you were looking for essential medical care. 

You may have no idea what to do in a trying period like this, when you might be buried beneath an escalating pile of bills while simultaneously unable to earn the money you need to pay them, but the Indianapolis medical malpractice attorneys at Hensley Legal Group can help. 

If you hire Hensley, we will launch a thorough investigation into your medical injury and everyone who contributed to it within the time permitted by law.  We will then move swiftly to secure the materials to support your claim, subpoenaing hospital and caregiver documentation and consulting with experts who can provide critical insights into any medical misconduct.  

If there is proof of wrongdoing, our tenacious Indianapolis medical malpractice lawyers will leave no stone unturned until it sees the light of day. 

Get Compensated for the Entirety of Your Losses 

After assembling an airtight case against each of the defendants, we will enter into negotiations with their insurers for a settlement that compensates you for the entirety of your losses, including your:   

• Medical expenses  

• Lost wages  

• Pain and suffering   

• Hindered mobility 

• Mental and emotional anguish   

• Reduced quality of living  

• Loss of consortium  

• Punitive and wrongful death damages (when appropriate)   

And if an offer is not extended that reflects what your claim is actually worth, we are not afraid to proceed to trial for verdict that does, unlike many of our competitors, who seldom, if ever, venture into a courtroom, and we can petition the PCF for the remainder if the situation warrants it. 

No two Indianapolis medical malpractice cases are exactly alike, but we will always strive to get you the maximum amount of compensation possible for yours.  

You Won’t Have to Pay Us Anything Until We Win 

If you are reluctant to agree to more expenditures when you can least afford them, you may be pleased to learn that Hensley Legal Group works on a contingency basis, which means that you won’t have to pay us anything until our Indianapolis medical malpractice attorneys win your case. 

It can be tough to rely on anybody when so many others have let you down before, but you can rely on us to do everything in our power to make you whole again. 

Reach Out to Our Indianapolis Medical Malpractice Lawyers 

Hensley Legal Group has been staunchly advocating for honest Hoosiers like you since the firm opened its doors in 1998.  If you are struggling to get back to normal after being badly injured in the Indianapolis area, reach out to our Indianapolis medical malpractice lawyers to explore your legal options. 

For a complimentary case review with a seasoned Indianapolis medical malpractice attorney, just call our office at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form at your earliest convenience.