On October 6, 2009, a Bloomington, Indiana jury returned a verdict in favor of Plaintiffs Wanda and Bart Fitzgerald in their medical malpractice claim against Defendant Dr. Alan Wise. The claim arose out of a burn Wanda Fitzgerald received as a result of being rolled over onto an electrocautery unit during surgery. The Fitzgeralds were represented by attorney Nick Deets of the Indianapolis firm Hovde Dassow & Deets LLC.
On October 6, 2009, a Bloomington, Indiana jury returned a verdict in favor of Plaintiffs Wanda and Bart Fitzgerald in their medical malpractice claim against Defendant Dr. Alan Wise. The claim arose out of a burn Wanda Fitzgerald received as a result of being rolled over onto an electrocautery unit during surgery. The Fitzgeralds were represented by attorney Nick Deets of the Indianapolis firm Hovde Dassow & Deets LLC.
Nick Deets, an attorney with Hovde Dassow and Deets LLC in Carmel, Indiana, obtained a verdict of $875,000 for Stacey Riley in her medical malpractice claim against Dr. Paul Kwo in the Boone Circuit Court on June 27, 2009. The claim arose out of Stacey's post-operative visit with Dr. Kwo on July 1, 2003 where she complained of blurred vision, a twitching lip, a tingling arm, was a smoker on birth control and had a blood pressure reading of 180/100. Stacey claimed that Dr. Kwo should have made a referral to the emergency room or her primary care physician based upon these symptoms. Dr. Kwo did not make a referral and Stacey suffered a massive stroke the next day which permanently affected her speech and right-sided motor skills.
On May 27, 2008, Senior Judge Hugo Songer of the Dubois Superior Court denied Motions for Summary Judgment filed by Defendants Jasper Memorial Hospital, Dr. Monte Sellers and Dr. Mark Sturgill in the claim brought agains them by Ruth Wessel in Cause #19D01-0709-CT-163. The Defendants had argued that Mrs. Wessel's claim should be dismissed because it was brought after the statute of limitations had expired.
The case arises out of Raymond Wessel's visit to the emergency room at Jasper Memorial Hospital on May 20, 2003 where his chest x-ray was read as demonstrating a mass by Dr. Sturgill and a CT scan was recommended. The Wessels and their family doctor were not notified of Dr. Sturgill's interpretation and recommendation until he was admitted to this emergency room again on March 16, 2005. After a 14 month battle with cancer, Raymond Wessel passed away on Mary 29, 2006 and his widow sought legal counsel and filed her claim on July 20, 2006. Judge Songer ruled that Ruth Wessel had filed her claim within a reasonable time given Ray's extended battle with cancer and his passing.
Ruth Wessel's claim will now return to the Indiana Department of Insurance where it will be considered by a Medical Review Panel. She is represented by Nicholas Deets of the Indianapolis law firm of Hovde Dassow & Deets LLC.
The Indiana Court of Appeals decided the case of Stanley v. Walker on Tuesday, June 5, 2008. In this significant Indiana decision, the Court held that discounts on medical bills that were obtained because the plaintiff had procured his own health health insurance were not admissible under Indiana's Collateral Source Statute. This means that Plaintiffs can claim the full amount of their medical bills and are not punished for having the foresight to purchase their own health insurance. This is a major victory for Indiana citizens seeking to obtain fair compensation for their injuries in auto and truck accident cases as well as other actions such as medical malpractice cases.
The decision may be read by utilizing the following link:
http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/06030803cld.pdf
