Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act Finds Higher Caps and Tighter Timelines

Tweaks to Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act (MMA) have increased the limits on damages for the first time in two decades, among other changes to the MMA.

Parties For and Against Changes to MMA

The director of government relations for Indiana State Medical Association evaluates the MMA as the “gold standard” of medical malpractice laws and says Indiana “is one of the top states to practice medicine because of our favorable malpractice environment,” which can certainly be read as a gentle nod to the difficulty patients may face when undertaking a medical malpractice suit. Indeed, Indiana is in limited company as a state where the law sets caps for medical malpractice damages.

Arguing the flip side, the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association points to caps as creating an environment attractive to less-successful physicians. At a minimum, the long-untouched caps needed to reflect increases in healthcare costs. After some legislative wrangling that would have bumped up the caps every four years, a new deal was struck and signed into law.

Malpractice Regulations in Indiana

The maximum recoverable amount in Indiana for medical malpractice, which for years has been among the nation’s lowest, was raised incrementally by the new law. From $1.25 million, it adjusted to $1.67 million on July 1, 2017 and again to $1.8 million on July 1, 2019. The change was a result of concern among lawmakers that Indiana’s early-adopted statutory caps would meet the fate of other states where caps are low: being ruled unconstitutional and unfair to patients.

The regulations protect patients from lag times after damages are awarded. Henceforth, a statutory timeline will dictate how a case proceeds—unless the parties agree on a separate written agreement. This provision is intended to prevent delays in all stages of the proceedings, from selection of a review panel to collecting evidence and all details necessary to close out the case. Damages must be paid within sixty days after the final, non-appealable judgment is issued.

On the whole, the revision brought a long-needed re-evaluation of reasonable expectations for these complicated and expensive cases. While one faction will argue it did not go far enough (and certainly lawmakers did aim for even higher caps when the bill was introduced), it’s hard to imagine another being unhappy with the change.

Contact a Medical Malpractice Attorney Today

If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of medical malpractice, you are urged to contact the attorneys of Wilson Kehoe Winingham. An experienced Indianapolis medical malpractice lawyer at WKW can help you get the compensation you deserve. Call 317.920.6400 or fill out an online contact form for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.

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