Indiana Supreme Court Addresses Plaintiff's Attorney Fees Under the Medical Malpractice Act

By Ammon R. Fillmore, Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman PC

Recently, in Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund v. Holcomb, the Indiana Supreme Court addressed a question of first impression regarding whether Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act’s cap on attorney fees from a Patient Compensation Fund (“Fund”) award also applies to reduce the Fund’s liability. The Court held that the Fee Cap Provision in medical malpractice cases under Ind. Code § 34-18-18-1 is clear and unambiguous in that “the plaintiff’s attorney fees from any award made from the Patient’s Compensation Fund may not exceed fifteen percent of any recovery from the fund.” As such, attorney fees payable from the excess damages recovered from the Fund are limited by the Fee Cap Provision to 15 percent of the excess payment. To learn more about the decision, click here. 

This post was written by Ammon R. Fillmore, Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman PC. If you would like to submit content or write an article for the Health Care and Life Sciences Section page, please email Rachel Beachy at rbeachy@indybar.org.