Horn v. Interventional Cardiologist

Claim:

Plaintiff appealed following a defense verdict before a Porter County jury, and the Court of Appeals Affirmed

Outcome:

Defense Verdict Affirmed on Appeal

Plaintiff alleged negligence involving medical care rendered by her interventional cardiologist during the course of a cardiac catheterization. Before the Indiana Department of Insurance panel proceedings stage, Plaintiff raised only allegations of negligence related to the physician's technical performance of the procedure itself. But at trial, Plaintiff wanted to also assert that indications for the catheterization were not present.

Upon motion from the defense counsel, the trial court barred allegations related to indications for the procedure from the trial pursuant to K.D. v. Chambers. A Porter County Jury considered the case and returned a verdict for the defense in November of 2015. Thereafter Plaintiff appealed, asserting that the trial court erred in barring evidence regarding indications for the procedure. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's decision and the jury verdict in an opinion issued September 20, 2016. On October 17 the opinion was published, making it an authority upon which attorneys and litigants can rely and cite in the future.

This case is an important one that helps to establish that plaintiffs who fail to assert claims and theories before a medical review panel are properly barred from proceeding to trial on those new allegations.