Bleeke Dillon Crandall is honored to be one of only a handful of Indiana law firms that represents the Indiana Patient Compensation Fund in excess cases seeking additional damages after a health care provider has settled an underlying medical negligence case. In these cases, liability is deemed admitted; and the focus is upon fair compensation, but not an excessive award, for the damages experienced by the patient. A recent favorable result achieved by Jim Bleeke for the Patient Compensation Fund, at trial and on appeal, is discussed below:
The Indiana Court of Appeals recently upheld a favorable ruling by Judge Louis Rosenberg in a case defended at trial by Jim Bleeke in December 2011. Plaintiff had demanded in excess of $900,000 at the final mediation of the case, claiming substantial damages for lost earning capacity for a 52-year-old man who had required shoulder replacement surgery due to a dislocated shoulder that occurred while he was hospitalized for a liver transplant. The trial court did not award any damages for lost earning capacity, concluding that any such loss would be speculative in light of the fact that the Plaintiff had previously retired and accepted an early pension due to his liver problems. The court did award an additional $225,953.78 for other damages beyond the underlying $250,000 recovery, but awarded less than the million dollars that Plaintiff sought at trial in the case where liability was deemed admitted by settlement of the underlying case. The Court of Appeals agreed with Judge Rosenberg’s reasoning that any lost earning capacity damages would be speculative in light of Plaintiff’s previous retirement and acceptance of a disability pension.
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