Incurred risk is not a defense to medical malpractice based on negligence or lack of informed consent; plaintiff’s consents to prior surgeries were admissible to counter her lack-of-informed-consent claim to the extent that claim was based on failure to inform her of typical risks in the procedure.
Civil
Dowdell v. City of Jeffersonville, No. 10A04-0811-CV-676, ___ N.E.2d ___ (Ind. Ct. App., June 9, 2009)
Jeffersonville ordinance that prohibited convicted sex offenders from entering public parks was unconstitutional as applied under the prohibition on ex post facto laws in the Indiana Constitution.
Stanley v. Walker, No. 41S01-0810-CV-539, ___ N.E.2d ___ (Ind. May 27, 2009)
In a personal injury case where the amount of medical expenses actually paid by plaintiff was discounted from the amount originally billed because of arrangements between plaintiff’s health insurance company and medical providers, to the extent that discounted amount may be introduced without referencing insurance, it may be used to determine the reasonable value of medical services.
Estate of Margaret H. Prickett v. Womersley, No. 71S03-0808-CV-419, ___ N.E.2d ___ (Ind., May 13, 2009)
Indiana law presumes that services while caring for a person subject to a guardianship are rendered gratuitously if rendered by a family member; the presumption cannot be rebutted by evidence that the person wanted her daughter to be compensated because the person was under a guardianship, and the guardian did not consent.
Indiana Patient's Compensation Fund v. Patrick, No. 49A02-0807-CV-614, ___ N.E.2d ___ (Ind. Ct. App., May 18, 2009)
Trial court properly characterized father’s claim for damages for emotional distress arising from the negligence of the medical personnel treating his adult son as independent of and in addition to the adult wrongful death claim.