Indiana Injury Lawyer Blog

Indiana's Medical Malpractice law is facing a challenge from an unlikely source -- a Fishers doctor. Many Indiana lawmakers and physicians consider The Indiana Compensation Act for Patients as one that protects doctors and provides them and the medical system with stability. However, now Dr. Scott Hubbard, would like that law to change.

As reported by www.theindychannel.com in the article, "Patients Blast Indiana Law that Protects Doctors," a doctor did not diagnose Hubbard's cancer in 1999 when he underwent his initial biopsy. Hubbard sued his doctor for Medical Malpractice, but Indiana's Medical Malpractice law limits the amount of money he can recover. Even though his medical expenses are close to $2 million dollars and his lost wages are more than $4 million, the most money he can receive in a medical malpractice lawsuit is $1.25 million. Hubbard says Indiana's Medical Malpractice law is, thus, unfair.

The Indiana Compensation Act for Patients has faced legal challenges before since it was enacted in 1975. The law determines the process for handling a medical malpractice case as well as the possible jury awards. One step is for the case to be heard by a "medical review panel."

However, patients and their families who would like the law changed point to statistics surrounding this panel. According to the Indiana Department of Insurance, from 1975-2009, the medical review panel issued opinions in 12,034 cases and did not find medical malpractice in 7,674 of them. That's about 64% of the time. Thus, many patients and their families say this data shows the medical malpractice law favors doctors.