The cases we see most often are a missed or delayed diagnosis, such as a cancer visible on an earlier scan or a heart attack sent home from the emergency room as indigestion; surgical errors, including operating on the wrong site, leaving an instrument behind, or damaging a nerve or organ that should have been protected; medication errors in dose, drug, or patient; birth injuries to the mother or the child from a delayed delivery or a failure to respond to fetal distress; and emergency room errors in triage and discharge. In each, the question is the same: what would a reasonably careful provider in that specialty have done, and did the departure from that standard cause the harm. Both elements require testimony from a physician in the same field.
Indiana handles these claims under the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act, and the process is unlike any other injury claim. Before a lawsuit can be filed against a qualified provider, a proposed complaint is filed with the Indiana Department of Insurance. The claim is then reviewed by a medical review panel, chaired by an attorney, made up of three health care providers who read the records and the parties’ submissions and issue an opinion on whether the standard of care was met and whether any breach caused the injury. The panel’s opinion is not binding, but it is admissible, and it shapes everything that follows. Only after the panel issues its opinion can the case go to court. A detailed guide to the Department of Insurance panel process is coming.
Indiana caps the total damages that can be recovered against a qualified provider, with the amount set by statute and adjusted by the legislature from time to time. The provider or its insurer pays the first portion of any recovery, and the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund pays the rest up to the cap. Providers earn these protections by paying into the Fund, which is why nearly every hospital and physician in the state is a qualified provider. The statute of limitations is two years from the act or omission, not from the date you discovered the injury, with narrow exceptions for cases where the injury could not reasonably have been discovered within that time and for young children (Ind. Code § 34-18-7-1). Two years passes quickly when the records alone take months to gather, which is why we ask people not to wait.
A malpractice case begins with the records, all of them, and a review by a physician in the relevant specialty. We will tell you honestly whether that review supports a claim, because filing a case that cannot be proved helps no one. We make no promises about outcomes; no attorney can. What we promise is a thorough evaluation and a straight answer. We evaluate every case and, where it serves the client, work with co-counsel who concentrate on medical malpractice, so that the case has both a firm you know and the depth the Act demands. We handle these matters from our Merrillville and South Bend offices and take them anywhere in Indiana. You won’t owe us a fee unless we recover, and when a case resolves, you get the check and we handle the bills.
In Indiana, most personal injury claims must be filed within two years of the date of injury (Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4). Claims against a city, county, or state agency require a formal tort claim notice much sooner, in some cases within 180 days. Waiting costs leverage, and in some cases it costs the claim entirely.
We represent injured people everywhere in Indiana. Most of an injury case happens by phone, email, and video, so you do not need to live near one of our offices to work with us.
Injury cases are handled on a contingency fee: no retainer, no hourly bill, and no attorney fee unless we recover money for you. The percentage is set in a written agreement before we start and depends on the stage at which the case resolves. How contingency fees work, in plain English.
A decorated U.S. Army veteran who set his sights on the law at age eight, James has represented hundreds of injured clients with a modern, client-first style and a refusal to let insurance companies run out the clock.
You usually cannot know without a physician’s review of the records. If the outcome was unexpected and nobody has given you a satisfying explanation, that is reason enough to ask. The consultation is free.
Longer than most injury cases. Gathering records, the medical review panel process, and any lawsuit that follows together commonly take several years. We will give you a realistic timeline after the initial review.
Yes. Indiana caps damages against qualified providers at an amount set by statute, with the Patient’s Compensation Fund paying the portion above what the provider pays. We will explain the current figures when we meet.
In most cases, yes. A proposed complaint is filed with the Indiana Department of Insurance and reviewed by a medical review panel before a lawsuit can be filed against a qualified provider.
Five minutes on the phone and you will know where you stand. You will not owe us a fee unless we recover money for you, and the bills get handled before the check does.