Background
The issue on appeal was whether Indiana’s summary-judgment standard requires a medical expert to expressly state the applicable standard of care in his affidavit. Two prior appellate court decisions offered two possible answers: Oelling v. Rao, 593 N.E.2d 189 (Ind. 1992), said yes, but Jordan v. Deery, 609 N.E.2d 1104 (Ind. 1993), said no and suggested the standard of care may be inferred from other content in the affidavit.
For three decades, Oelling had been cited more often, but the Indiana Supreme Court recently held “our precedents align more closely with Jordan. Today, we retire that part of the Oelling rule, which required affidavits to state the standard of care expressly, and embrace Jordan instead. Thus, the standard of care may be inferred from an affidavit.”
The plaintiff in the recent case was injured in an automobile accident and treated by two doctors at a hospital. She later sued both doctors, and the hospital, for medical malpractice. The trial court entered summary judgment for all
three defendants, and the Indiana Court of Appeals, relying on Oelling, unanimously affirmed. The Indiana Supreme Court stated, “Today, we summarily affirm the Court of Appeals opinion insofar as it concluded that Dr. Halperin and Memorial Hospital of South Bend are each entitled to summary judgment. See Ind. Appellate Rule 58(A)(2); see also Martin v. Amoco Oil Co., 696 N.E.2d 383, 386 n.4 (Ind. 1998) (acknowledging we can “decline to review” portions of an appellate opinion and thus “partially deny transfer” on such issues). But applying a more refined distillation of our precedents to Dr. Messmer, we reach a different outcome and reverse the trial court’s decision as it relates to him.”
The Indiana Supreme Court specifically held in its January 25, 2024 Opinion: “Today, we alleviate that mounting pressure and hold that Oelling’s mandate that a medical expert affiant expressly “set out the applicable standard of care” is abrogated. 593 N.E.2d at 190. At the same time, we preserve Oelling’s directive that a medical expert affiant must include “a statement that the treatment . . . fell below” the standard of care. Id. Thus, the applicable standard of care may be inferred, provided the affidavit contains substantively sufficient information. See Jordan, 609 N.E.2d at 1110. The affidavit must also include “a statement that the treatment . . . fell below” the standard of care, Oelling, 593 N.E.2d at 190, to reflect “an evidentiary fact” for summary judgment, Chi Yun Ho, 880 N.E.2d at 1201.”
“we state our amended rule for medical malpractice affidavits in Indiana: the applicable standard of care may be inferred, provided the affidavit contains substantively sufficient information.”
Source Korakis v. Memorial Hospital of South Bend, Supreme Court Case No. 23S-CT-109.
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