If you had to sue a doctor or hospital...what attorney would you use in Indiana?

[CHCRandy]

Mr. Buddy Yosha.........or Tina Bell with Cline, Farrell, Christie & Lee

 

[hoosierdoc]

The insurance thing puzzles me. She doesn't have ERCP insurance. She has insurance. Under what Clause are they saying they don't have to pay because a complication arose?

is it where they are not paying for nursing home or in-home care? That would be typical. They should cover imaging, feeding tubes, etc. unless they want to sue the hospital/provider to recover their damages, but I would think that they'd pay first and collect later. Not even sure they can do that.

 

[Darral27]

I know how difficult it can be caring for a family member with medical issues and I am sorry to hear your family is having to go through this.
With that being said along with letting you know I am not an attorney I will ask my question that may or may not help.
i have been told by an attorney that I am working with on a different issue that in Indiana medical malpractice have a $1 million limit. After the lawyers 1/3 +costs and 3-4 years of fighting is a malpractice suit equitable in Indiana?
I was involved in a case in a different state and I can say from experience it is a horrible experience to go through. No offense to houghmade but the lawyers defending the hospitals and Docs that I had to deal with said some really terrible things during depositions and dug for anything they could possibly find in the background of all involved whether relevant to the case or not.
In the state I was in they did not have these limits and the amount finally settled on took care of what needed done. If we had been in Indiana that would not have been the case from what I know. Lawyers, please correct me if I am wrong about the award limit or details of it. Just something to consider.

 

[HoughMade]

Not legal advice, but I would never tell an insurance company that you are thinking there is a lawsuit until after they pay the bills. They start making noises about being secondary to other insurance.

 

[HoughMade]

$1.25 million limit.

No offense taken. I try not to be an a-hole, but I will do what I need to do to defend my clients. Accuse someone of incompetent actions and expect to be asked hard questions. I assume you didn't attend the depositions the plaintiff lawyers took of the defendants.

 

[Darral27]

$1.25 million limit.

No offense taken. I try not to be an a-hole, but I will do what I need to do to defend my clients. Accuse someone of incompetent actions and expect to be asked hard questions. I assume you didn't attend the depositions the plaintiff lawyers took of the defendants.

Is that 1.25 that legal fees and expenses have to come out of or are separate? 1.25 million could turn into 700,000 very fast. Just being honest 3/4 million does not get you real far in the medical world.

I attended ALL depositions. I guess the big difference is that it was so personal to me. To the Docs, nurses, and lawyers it was another day at the office.
I am not saying I hold any ill will toward defendants legal teams, they had a job to do and did their best, I understand that. Just trying to let the OP know that it will be a very difficult road for what sounds like a large amount but when you start cutting checks for medical care it's not much. Sometimes people would be better off getting hoosiercare.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Limit for compensatory or punitive, or is there such things in indiana?

funny how a garage door gets you $20 million though.

 

[Darral27]

Limit for compensatory or punitive, or is there such things in indiana?

funny how a garage door gets you $20 million though.

I would think you would know. Don't you get sued twice a week being an ER doc?
Add purple where needed.

 

[CHCRandy]

Limit for compensatory or punitive, or is there such things in indiana?

funny how a garage door gets you $20 million though.

On the other hand a guy once died on a job by falling into the crawl space opening of a new home...he was an employee of the home builder and I heard his family was unable to sue his employer.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I would think you would know. Don't you get sued twice a week being an ER doc?
Add purple where needed.

Nope, been out since 2007 and no lawsuits yet. Care about your patients, be open, honest, compassionate, and your odds of getting sued go way down. I view their complaint as a problem we're both facing. Them as a patient and me as a clinician. We both have to get to a place where they're better off than they were and we're on the same team. I do whatever I can for them and that mentality has been working so far. Of course you have to get the medical care correct, but even when things don't go as anticipated, no one wants to sue the nice compassionate doctor who spent 45 minutes with the extended family explaining the options.

 

[hoosierdoc]

On the other hand a guy once died on a job by falling into the crawl space opening of a new home...he was an employee of the home builder and I heard his family was unable to sue his employer.

does that fit in with the LTCH going away? What state was that in? Why would you be unable to sue your employer?

 

[HoughMade]

Limit for compensatory or punitive, or is there such things in indiana?

funny how a garage door gets you $20 million though.

That would be compensatory. Punitives (in all cases) are limited to $50,000 or 3 times economic damages, whichever is more. 75% of any punitive damages paid goes to a state fund for criminal victim compensation. Some brilliant attorney made it possible for punitive damage judgments to be compromised by settlement without the participation of the State, though.

 

[hoosierdoc]

For economic damages... loss of consortium for my wife would cost a LOT to make up for. We're talking professional level pinch hitters to approximate the loss of me. Would they factor that in? I could provide video evidence.

 

[HoughMade]

On the other hand a guy once died on a job by falling into the crawl space opening of a new home...he was an employee of the home builder and I heard his family was unable to sue his employer.

It's called Worker Compensation. Want certain recovery for on the job injuries regardless of your own negligence, then you give up the right to sue your employer.

 

[HoughMade]

For economic damages... loss of consortium for my wife would cost a LOT to make up for. We're talking professional level pinch hitters to approximate the loss of me. Would they factor that in? I could provide video evidence.

Not in a med mal case. $1.25 million regardless. For general negligence, the question is: what can you prove?

 

[hoosierdoc]

Not in a med mal case. $1.25 million regardless. For general negligence, the question is: what can you prove?

Not even a snicker at 11:20p? I am tossing out my best stuff here.

 

[mom45]

Even if you spend the money to obtain the medical records, any attorney you hire is likely to request them as well. I used to work with an attorney who defended physicians in malpractice claims. It was my job to collect the records from ALL providers who had treated the patient. Even if the client provided us with information, we still requested it from the providers because we wanted to make sure we had a complete copy and the same info that the plaintiff's attorney would have to work with. The attorney is going to pay for those records and bill you for doing it. You are not going to save money by taking copies to them.

I agree with much of the advice given above. Don't tell anyone you are thinking of filing a lawsuit. You may want to check to see if the physician(s) involved has a history of malpractice claims in the past. The Indiana Department of Insurance page is public info and you can search by physician name for a history of claims and/or settlements and the findings of the medical review panel. Any lawyer you hire should do this, but it might be helpful to you in making your decision to know if this provider has a history of issues. If they have no history of malpractice claims or suits or previous review panels have found no malpractice in the past, you may have a more difficult time proving your case.

Keep in mind that these cases can take a long, long time to settle. I worked on cases that had been ongoing for many years that were not even close to being resolved when I left my position at the firm.

It's been several years since I worked with this, but these are some things that came to mind when reading your questions and the previous replies. I hope it helps.

 

[Darral27]

For economic damages... loss of consortium for my wife would cost a LOT to make up for. We're talking professional level pinch hitters to approximate the loss of me. Would they factor that in? I could provide video evidence.

You can sue for that. Not sure the details but I know you can. You may want to keep the video evidence to yourself though.

 

[mbills2223]

Not even a snicker at 11:20p? I am tossing out my best stuff here.

I think that says more about you than him.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I think that says more about you than him.

Sitting here doing charts, sad.