MATHIAS, J.
Eric P. Sibbing (“Sibbing”) appeals the judgment of the Marion Superior Court in favor of Amanda N. Cave (“Cave”), individually and as the mother and guardian of Mercy M. Cave (“Mercy”), in Cave’s negligence action against Sibbing stemming from an automobile accident. On appeal, Sibbing presents two issues: (1) whether the trial court erred in allowing into evidence testimony from Cave regarding medical test results and the cause of her pain, and (2) whether the trial court erred in granting Cave’s motion to strike portions of the testimony of Sibbing’s expert medical witness. We affirm.
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Sibbing also claims that the trial court erred in granting Cave’s motion to strike portions of the videotaped testimony of his expert medical witness, Dr. Kern. Specifically, Sibbing claims that the trial court erred in striking those portions of Dr. Kern’s testimony in which he stated that, in his opinion, some of the treatment Cave had received from her medical care providers was unnecessary. Specifically, Dr. Kern testified that he did not “believe in” the treatment Cave received and did not think the nerve conduction test performed on Cave was a valuable diagnostic tool. Appellant’s App. p. 78. Sibbing notes that, in Indiana, the party seeking to recover medical expenses must prove that the expenses were both reasonable and necessary. See Cook, 796 N.E.2d at 277. Cave claims that this testimony was impermissible, citing Whitaker v. Kruse, 495 N.E.2d 223 (Ind. Ct. App. 1986).
In Whitaker, the defendants admitted their negligence but sought to reduce their liability by arguing that the plaintiff’s injuries were aggravated by unnecessary and negligent medical treatment. The trial court in that case instructed the jury that the defendant was not responsible for the aggravation of the plaintiff’s injuries caused by unnecessary or negligent medical treatment. Upon appeal, the court held that the jury instruction was erroneous . . . .The Whitaker court held that recovery is permitted whether the aggravated injuries are caused by a misdiagnosis of the injury and a subsequent unnecessary operation or by a proper diagnosis and a negligently performed necessary operation. Id. at 226 (citing Restatement (Second) of Torts § 457, comment a, illustration 1). The court noted that Indiana follows the general rule that a plaintiff’s recovery may be reduced if he fails to obey his physician’s instructions and thereby exacerbates or aggravates his injury. Id. Thus, if the court had adopted the opposite position, then “the injured party would be placed in the unenviable position of second-guessing his physicians in order to determine whether the doctor properly diagnosed the injury and chose the correct treatment.” Id. The court refused to “place innocent parties who have been injured by another’s negligence in such a position.” Id.
The court ultimately held that an injured party may recover for injuries caused by the original tort-feasor’s negligent conduct and for any aggravation of those injuries caused by a physician’s improper diagnosis and unnecessary treatment or proper diagnosis and negligent treatment. In order to recover under this rule, the plaintiff need only show he exercised reasonable care in choosing the physician. Id. Sibbing argues that the Whitaker case does not control because he is not arguing that Cave’s medical care providers aggravated her injuries. He simply claims that the treatments they chose were unnecessary. We see little difference between this case and Whitaker. The justifications for the rule in Whitaker apply equally whether the unnecessary treatment aggravates the plaintiffs injuries or is simply ineffective. Either way, a plaintiff should not be put in the position of second-guessing the treatment chosen by her medical care provider.
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Sibbing claims that if he is not permitted to challenge the necessity of Cave’s medical treatment, it would be impossible for him to challenge the reasonableness and necessity of her medical expenses, which Cave bore the burden of proving. See Cook, 796 N.E.2d at 277. We first observe that Dr. Kern did not testify that Cave’s treatment was unnecessary because she was uninjured or because the treatment addressed symptoms unrelated to the automobile accident. Certainly Sibbing should have been permitted to present evidence that Cave’s physicians were treating her for a condition unrelated to the accident-a condition for which Sibbing’s negligence would not be the proximate cause. But this is not what the stricken portions of Dr. Kern’s testimony stated. Instead, in the stricken portions at issue, Dr. Kern stated that, in his opinion, the treatment chosen by her medical care providers was ineffective and that he did not “believe in” the treatment.
Furthermore, Dr. Kern did not state that he thought the charges for Cave’s treatments were excessive. There is a notable difference between challenging the plaintiff’s medical expenses and challenging the specific course of treatment chosen by the plaintiff’s medical care providers. Our holding means that Sibbing could not challenge the specific course of treatment chosen by Cave’s doctors, but it does not mean that he could not challenge the expenses that were incurred as a result of these treatments as excessive. Here, Sibbing’s negligence caused Cave’s injuries. Moreover, there is no suggestion that Cave was negligent in her choice of medical care providers. Therefore, Sibbing should not be able to challenge the particular course of treatment chosen by Cave’s medical care providers to treat the injuries resulting from his negligence. To do so would force the innocently injured plaintiff to second-guess the choice of treatment chosen by her medical care providers. Therefore, we cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion in excluding the portions of Dr. Kern’s videotaped testimony.
. . . Sibbing may not seek to reduce his liability by challenging the specific course of treatment chosen by Cave’s medical care providers to treat the injuries caused by Sibbing’s negligence. Therefore, the trial court did not err in striking those portions of Dr. Kern’s testimony in which he opined that certain treatments chosen by Cave’s medical care providers was unnecessary.
Affirmed.
BROWN, J., concurs. BAKER, C.J., concurs in result in part and dissents in part with opinion.
BAKER, C.J., concurring in result in part and dissenting in part.
. . . I part ways with the determination that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting Cave’s motion to strike Dr. Kern’s videotaped testimony regarding the reasonableness and necessity of the passive treatment and nerve conduction study that Dr. Saquib ordered.
To recover damages for medical expenses, the plaintiff must prove that the expenses were both reasonable and necessary. Burge v. Teter, 808 N.E.2d 124, 132 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004). This burden has been traditionally met through the admission of expert testimony . . . .
In this case, Dr. Kern testified during his deposition that the passive care Cave received-including traction, manipulation, and heat and ice therapy-was not reasonable or medically necessary beyond four weeks after the accident because Cave’s MRI scans of the low neck and back were normal. Appellant’s App. p. 68-69, 73-74, 76. Additionally, Dr. Kern did not state that he did not believe in the treatment in question or that the treatments themselves were inappropriate or ineffective, and he did not criticize chiropractic care in general. In fact, Dr. Kern made it clear that passive care is not inappropriate in and of itself, opining that after four to six weeks after the injury, such care would be redundant. Id. at 81-82. Dr. Kern testified that there was no documentation in the records that nerve conduction studies were indicated because Cave had no weakness, loss of reflex, or severe sensation changes and because nerve conduction tests are not valuable for diagnosing. Appellant’s App. p. 67-68. Indeed, Dr. Kern was rendering his opinion, based upon his review of Cave’s records and his own experience practicing medicine, that passive treatment given more than a month after an accident was not helpful. It is apparent that Sibbing-through Dr. Kern’s expert testimony-was seeking an opportunity to lay a foundation for his argument that some of Cave’s treatment was not reasonable or necessary. In other words, the evidence sought to challenge the particular course of treatment chosen by Cave’s medical care providers to treat the injuries that resulted from Sibbing’s negligence. Thus, contrary to the majority’s view, I do not believe that this court’s holding in Whitaker v. Kruse, 495 N.E.2d 223 (Ind. Ct. App. 1986), precludes a defendant from calling an expert witness to render an opinion as to whether all of a plaintiff’s treatment was reasonable or necessary under the circumstances. Finally, I would note that because the trial court granted Cave’s motion to strike Dr. Kern’s testimony, Sibbing was effectively precluded from challenging the reasonableness and necessity of some of Cave’s treatment. Moreover, because Sibbing is not arguing that Cave’s medical care providers in any way aggravated her injuries, I cannot agree with the majority’s proposition that the admission of Dr. Kern’s testimony would place Cave “in the unenviable position of second-guessing his physicians in order to determine whether the doctor properly diagnosed the injury and chose the correct treatment.'” Slip op. at 11 (quoting Whitaker, 495 N.E.2d at 226).
In short, I do not believe that Evidence Rule 413 precluded the admission of Dr. Kern’s opinion testimony that Cave’s physical findings did not warrant the passive treatment and nerve conduction study that Dr. Saquib had ordered.