Medical Malpractice FAQs

For medical malpractice claims made for negligent care that occurred on or after July 1, 2019, the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund (PCF) guarantees payment for medical malpractice claims in which the liability of a qualified medical provider has been established through a settlement or verdict and the damages exceed $500,000.

A medical provider participates in the PCF by having medical malpractice insurance and paying a surcharge to the PCF. If the medical provider’s liability is established through a settlement or verdict, the provider would be responsible for paying the first $400,000 of damages, and the PCF would pay the balance of the damages up to $1.25 million. This would cap the patient’s damages award at $1.8 million.

Because there are many steps involved before a patient injured by medical malpractice can get to the PCF, it is very important to get advice from an attorney so you that your rights will be fully protected.

In most cases, the compensation obtained in a medical malpractice lawsuit is of great financial help to the injured patient or the family that has suffered a loss. But a medical malpractice lawsuit is also a legal mechanism for holding individuals or institutions that cause harm accountable. Problems that lead to serious medical errors are often systemic problems, such as improper policies and procedures at a hospital or medical center. Lawsuits can also expose individuals who are negligent or incompetent. A medical malpractice lawsuit that focuses attention on a problem could save others from losses like yours in the future.

Yes, we can help you.

Kelley J. Johnson has many years of experience assisting grieving family members and others who have been harmed while undergoing medical treatment. We cannot guarantee that we will find that you have a viable medical malpractice lawsuit, but if we believe that you have suffered from medical negligence, we will give you a thorough review of your case and a full explanation of the options we believe are available to you.

You are right to seek a second and even a third opinion if your questions and concerns have not been addressed to your satisfaction.

In many cases, a medical malpractice lawsuit will be resolved before it reaches court. There are many reasons why settlement is beneficial to both parties in a medical malpractice case. Trials present risks to both sides. Also, the defendant may want to avoid airing in court what may be serious medical errors or systemic problems with a hospital’s policies and procedures. If a settlement is offered, your medical malpractice attorney will negotiate with the defendant’s attorneys and discuss your options with you. No settlement can be made without your permission.

If your medical malpractice lawsuit goes to court, most of the testimony will come from expert witnesses who will explain medical aspects of the case. If your testimony is important to your case, your attorney will see to it that you are well prepared.

It is best to seek legal advice about a medical malpractice claim as soon as you suspect that a preventable medical error or neglect has caused serious harm. An attorney can advise you relating to the specifics of the claim and help obtain the relevant medical records and necessary information to evaluate that claim. With that said, developing and filing a medical malpractice lawsuit is often a lengthy process.

As part of the state of Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act, all proposed medical malpractice claims must be submitted to a medical review panel. The panel consists of three doctors or healthcare providers, and it is chaired by an attorney. The panel reviews the written evidence submitted by the parties and issues an opinion as to whether a preventable medical error occurred and damage resulted.

After the panel releases its opinion, the injured patient may proceed to court. The panel’s opinion is admissible in court. It may influence the outcome of a medical malpractice case.

You generally have two years from the date of the medical error that caused your injury in which to file a malpractice claim.

For medical errors involving children under the age of 6, the child’s parent or guardian has until the child’s 8th birthday to file a claim. In some rare cases, a court may allow a lawsuit to be filed after the deadline if the patient could not reasonably discover the malpractice before the statute of limitations had passed. However, a determination as to whether the statute of limitations has passed is very fact sensitive and must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.

In the case of a wrongful death caused by medical malpractice, Indiana law allows the victim’s family two years from the date of the alleged medical error or neglect to file a claim.

The state of Indiana sets the amount that a medical malpractice attorney may charge for representing an injured patient at 32 percent of the award paid by the healthcare provider and the Patient Compensation Fund.

The medical malpractice lawyer at the Law Office of Kelley J. Johnson advances all of the costs in litigating your medical malpractice case. We only receive reimbursement for those costs if we obtain a recovery for you.

Our approach is that injured patients should not have to pay money out of pocket to seek justice for a serious medical error. If we do not obtain compensation for you, you do not pay us anything.

The Indiana Medical Malpractice Act limits awards to $1.8 million. The Healthcare provider’s liability is limited to $500,000. The Indiana Patient Compensation Fund pays the balance, if any, up to the limit. The fund covers a wide range of health care providers. The list includes doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), optometrists, hospitals, HMOs, ambulance services, blood banks, and home health agencies.

Doctors are expected to follow the recognized standard of care when treating a patient. When they fail to do so, and a patient is seriously injured, that may be a case of medical malpractice.

Some medical errors are obvious. For instance, when a doctor performs surgery on the wrong body part or when a foreign object is accidentally left in a patient during surgery, the medical negligence is clear.

But in many cases, the medical error is not so clear. You may only suspect that you or a loved one has been seriously harmed by a health care provider’s treatment. Unfortunately, your doctor and hospital are unlikely to admit to you that they made an error.

You may need independent medical experts to review your medical records and determine whether a preventable medical error occurred that represents malpractice. At the Law Office of Kelley J. Johnson, we can help to provide you with answers.

The medical malpractice lawyer at the Law Office of Kelley J. Johnson will work with medical professionals to evaluate your records and offer guidance as to whether it can be shown that preventable errors occurred and a medical malpractice claim is appropriate.

The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, which administers the Medicare program, has a policy of not reimbursing hospitals for the costs associated with certain inexcusable medical errors such as surgery on the wrong body part, surgery on the wrong patient, Stage 4 bedsores and certain kinds of infections acquired in a hospital. These are known as “serious reportable events.” This is because these events should never happen. Patients who are victims of “never events” may be entitled to file a medical malpractice claim.

Medical malpractice is another term for medical negligence or a medical mistake that results in serious harm or injury. According to the Institute of Medicine, 98,000 people die every year from medical malpractice. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that there were 181,000 severe injuries attributable to medical negligence in 2003. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement estimates there are 15 million incidents of medical harm each year.

Serious medical errors that result in injury are far more common than most people realize. Preventable medical errors are known as “never events.” This is because they should never happen.

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider, such as a doctor, nurse, or hospital, fails to meet the accepted standard of care and harms a patient. The standard of care does not mean every medical professional must perform their duties flawlessly. However, if a patient suffers harm because a practitioner fails to adhere to the expected standard of care, the injured individual might have the right to file a medical negligence claim.

Some of the most common medical errors that can lead to malpractice claims include:

• Surgical mistakes – These errors include wrong surgical site, leaving foreign objects inside patients, or causing unnecessary nerve damage.
• Diagnostic errors – Misreading test results, delayed diagnoses, or failing to order necessary tests can have fatal consequences for some patients.
• Birth injuries – Brain damage or physical injury to a baby during labor and delivery can cause lifelong challenges for the child and their family.
• Medication errors – Serious complications can arise from administering the wrong drug or the wrong dose.

If you suspect you or a loved one has suffered harm due to medical negligence, the most important step is to consult with a medical malpractice attorney. A lawyer can help by:

• Evaluating whether you have a claim based on the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act
• Gathering and preserving all medical records related to the incident
• Having your documents reviewed by an independent expert to establish malpractice occurred
• Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit and demanding compensation for you

If your malpractice claim succeeds, you may recover money for:

• Medical expenses like hospital bills, ongoing care, and medication costs
• Lost income and reduced earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of consortium between spouses
• Mental distress
• Wrongful death damages if the medical negligence resulted in a fatality

Each case is different, and Indiana imposes a cap on how much claimants may receive in medical malpractice settlements and verdicts. Your attorney can help you understand what you may be eligible to recover in your case.

Look for an attorney with extensive malpractice litigation experience. They will have the resources and knowledge to handle these complex cases. Meet with the lawyer to learn how they will approach your case and whether they feel like the right fit. Many firms offer free consultations and handle cases on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no fees unless you receive compensation.

If you believe you have a medical malpractice case in Indiana, the Law Office of Kelley J. Johnson has the skill and experience to help. Our firm focuses solely on medical negligence cases. Attorney Kelley J. Johnson has recovered millions for clients injured by medical errors. We thoroughly investigate each case and work tirelessly to hold healthcare providers accountable. Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your situation and legal options.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death as reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There are many instances where heart disease is preventable and controllable. There are tests and procedures that doctors can perform which may identify or help a patient with cardiac problems. If you think that your husband’s condition was not properly evaluated or timely diagnosed, then by obtaining the relevant records and obtaining expert evaluation, we can help you determine whether his death was the direct result of medical malpractice.

If a doctor fails to obtain a thorough medical history, this can lead to serious problems. Anesthesia complications can also happen because a patient wasn’t properly evaluated before a procedure or carefully monitored during it. Some patients are allergic to certain types of anesthesia but do fine with others.

Once anesthesia is administered, failure to carefully monitor vital signs, including heart rate, blood pressure and blood oxygen levels, may prevent the opportunity to recognize an adverse reaction before it leads to serious consequences such as a heart attack or stroke.

Cancer misdiagnosis is a serious medical error. A delayed diagnosis wastes valuable time during which a treatable cancer may advance and become harder to control.

Many conditions and diseases have similar symptoms. In reviewing whether a doctor committed a preventable error, we evaluate whether the doctor ordered the appropriate tests based on your symptoms and whether earlier intervention would have made a significant difference.

Sometimes, a health professional fails to respond to an obvious symptom presented by a patient, fails to refer a patient to a specialist or fails to order follow-up tests.