Franciscan Health Indianapolis Malpractice & Injury Lawyer
The goal in a hospital-negligence case is a clear answer to two questions: did the care fall below the standard a reasonable provider would have met, and can that failure be proven to a medical review panel and, if necessary, a jury? Whitfield Crosby & Flynn is a personal injury and wrongful death trial firm that helps patients and families reach those answers. We handle medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death claims for people across Central Indiana, and a Franciscan Health Indianapolis malpractice and injury lawyer from our firm builds each case as if it will be tried.
Cases involving a large hospital system do not begin with a complaint in court. In Indiana, a claim against a health care provider generally has to go through the Indiana Department of Insurance and a medical review panel before a lawsuit can proceed. That sequence shapes your timeline, your evidence, and your strategy from the first week, so the decisions you make early matter more than most people realize.
Hospitals and their insurers know the procedural rules well. They also know which plaintiff firms have the experts and the trial record to push a case past the panel stage. That is the reputation we work to earn on every file.
What Makes a Hospital Injury Claim Different in Indiana
A medical malpractice claim is not simply a bad outcome with a lawyer attached. Medicine carries risk, and complications happen without anyone being negligent. The legal question is whether a provider departed from accepted practice and whether that departure caused harm you would not otherwise have suffered. Both pieces need expert support, usually from a physician in the same specialty as the provider being challenged.
Indiana adds a gate that many states do not have. Before a malpractice suit against a qualified provider can be filed in court, a proposed complaint must be presented to a medical review panel through the Indiana Department of Insurance. Either side can request that the panel be formed once twenty days have passed after the proposed complaint is filed. The panel is made up of three health care providers, with an attorney serving as a non-voting chairperson, and it issues an opinion on whether the evidence shows a breach of the standard of care.
The panel’s opinion is generally expected within 180 days, though parties can agree to extend that window, and extensions are common. Filing the proposed complaint pauses the statute of limitations until 90 days after the panel issues its opinion. Two exceptions exist: the panel step can be skipped if the proposed complaint states that the damages sought do not exceed $15,000, or if the claimant and every named defendant agree in writing to waive it. In a serious injury case, the first exception rarely applies.
A panel opinion is not a verdict, and it does not end the case either way. It is evidence that can be introduced later, and it shapes settlement talks. Preparing for that stage means gathering complete records, retaining the right specialists early, and framing the case so that the panel’s three providers can see the departure from care clearly.
Why Choose Whitfield Crosby & Flynn for a Franciscan Health Malpractice Claim
Whitfield Crosby & Flynn is a trial firm first. Our attorneys bring more than 90 years of combined experience and have played a role in settlements and verdicts totaling over $1 billion. We serve injured people across Indianapolis and Central Indiana, including Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Greenwood, Lawrence, Avon, and Plainfield, as well as families in Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky, and Southeast Tennessee. Clients have a direct line to their attorney, and we prepare every case for trial from day one, which is why insurers and hospital defense teams tend to take our settlement demands seriously.
Chuck Flynn, an attorney with the firm, is a Notre Dame Law School graduate admitted to practice in Indiana. He is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and was recognized as an Attorney for Justice by the Tennessee Supreme Court. John Whitfield, our founding attorney, has practiced for more than 40 years, is certified as a Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and has obtained more than 30 settlements and verdicts over one million dollars. Sarah Bearden, a former public defender, brings courtroom experience to the trial team. Tim Crosby focuses his practice on personal injury and wrongful death trial work, and Andrew Flynn has handled cases at every level of the Illinois state court system, including arguments before the Illinois Supreme Court.
Our results show the kind of opposition we are willing to face. We were part of a $165 million settlement in a worldwide class action over defective heart valves, a case built on medical-device science and document-heavy discovery. We also secured a $5.78 million jury verdict for a law enforcement officer in a negligence case against a municipality, and a $4.8 million settlement for the families of five coal miners killed in a mine explosion. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future case, but they reflect how we approach cases against well-funded defendants. Our attorneys are members of the American Association for Justice, the Kentucky Justice Association, and the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, and the firm has been recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.
Types of Hospital Negligence and Injury Claims We Evaluate
- Surgical Errors: Wrong-site procedures, retained instruments, nerve or organ damage, and anesthesia mistakes can all fall below the standard of care. These cases turn on operative reports, nursing notes, and testimony from a surgeon in the same specialty.
- Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis: Missed strokes, heart attacks, infections, sepsis, and cancers in emergency departments or inpatient units can change a treatable condition into a life-threatening one. The key question is what a reasonable provider would have ordered or recognized, and when.
- Birth Injuries: Failures to monitor fetal distress, respond to labor complications, or perform a timely cesarean delivery can lead to oxygen deprivation, cerebral palsy, and lifelong care needs. These claims often require life care planners and economists to value future costs.
- Medication and Prescribing Errors: Wrong dosages, dangerous drug interactions, and ignored allergies can occur at ordering, dispensing, or administration. Medication administration records and pharmacy logs are central evidence.
- Hospital-Acquired Infections and Pressure Injuries: Breakdowns in sterile technique, catheter care, or patient repositioning can cause serious infections and bedsores during an inpatient stay.
- Patient Falls and Inadequate Monitoring: Falls from beds, during transfers, or after sedation may reflect staffing or supervision failures rather than bad luck, and can be pursued as negligence or premises claims depending on the facts.
- Wrongful Death After Substandard Care: When negligent treatment ends a life, Indiana gives families two years from the date of death to bring a wrongful death claim, and the medical review panel process may apply as well.
- Defective Devices and Drugs Used in Treatment: When the harm comes from a faulty implant, device, or medication rather than a provider’s choices, a product liability claim against the manufacturer may exist alongside or instead of a malpractice claim.
What to Do After Suspected Negligence at an Indianapolis Hospital
Start by getting the medical care you still need, and if possible, get it from a different provider. A second opinion protects your health and often produces the first independent assessment of what went wrong. Do not delay needed treatment out of frustration with the original facility.
Next, request your complete records in writing, including physician notes, nursing charts, imaging, lab results, medication administration records, and discharge paperwork. Ask for the electronic audit trail if you can; it shows when entries were made or changed. Keep a running journal of symptoms, new limitations, missed work, and conversations with hospital staff. Save bills, insurance explanations of benefits, and any written communication from the hospital’s risk management or billing offices.
Be careful with what you say and sign. A hospital representative may call to express concern, ask for your account, or offer to waive a bill. Those conversations are not neutral. Do not sign releases or accept payments without having a lawyer review them, and avoid posting details about your care on social media.
Deadlines deserve attention immediately. Indiana generally allows two years from the act or omission to bring a medical malpractice claim, and the proposed complaint must be filed with the Indiana Department of Insurance within that period. Claims against government entities in Indiana carry a much shorter notice requirement of 180 days from the loss. If your injury happened at a public facility or involved a government-employed provider, that notice rule can control your entire case.
Your case will be filed and decided under the rules of the state where the care took place, but our attorneys also handle claims for people in neighboring regions. If you were hurt elsewhere, the deadlines differ: Illinois allows two years from discovery for malpractice with an absolute four-year outer limit, Kentucky allows one year from the act or discovery with a five-year outer limit, and Tennessee applies a discovery rule with a three-year repose period. When the care was delivered in Marion County, Indiana, a lawsuit that follows the panel process would be filed in the state courts serving that county or, in the right circumstances, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
The most common mistake is waiting for the hospital to explain itself. Time passes, records get harder to reconstruct, and the limitations clock keeps running. Calling a Franciscan Health Indianapolis injury attorney early gives your case the best chance of surviving both the panel step and the defense’s first challenges.
How Fault, Experts, and Damages Are Decided
Indiana uses a modified comparative fault system. If a patient’s own conduct contributed to the harm, such as ignoring discharge instructions or withholding medical history, that fault is compared against the fault of everyone else involved. A claimant who is more at fault than all other responsible parties combined recovers nothing; at exactly 50 percent, recovery continues but is cut in half. Hospital defense teams look for any argument along these lines, so documenting what you told providers and what instructions you received matters.
Expert testimony is the backbone of every malpractice case. We retain physicians who practice in the relevant specialty to review the records and explain, in plain terms, what should have happened. For serious injuries, we also bring in life care planners and economists to calculate what a lifetime of treatment, lost income, and reduced capacity will cost. A strong damages presentation is often what moves a hospital’s insurer toward a serious settlement figure.
Because a hospital system may employ some physicians and merely grant privileges to others, identifying the right defendants takes work. Responsibility can sit with an individual provider, a physician group, the hospital itself, or more than one of them, and each may carry separate insurance. Sorting that out early prevents surprises after the panel process begins.
Questions About Franciscan Health Indianapolis Malpractice and Injury Claims
Do I have to go through a medical review panel before suing a hospital in Indiana?
In most cases, yes. A malpractice action against a qualified health care provider cannot be filed in court until the proposed complaint has been presented to a medical review panel. The exceptions are narrow: the proposed complaint states that damages do not exceed $15,000, or the claimant and all named defendants agree in writing to waive the panel.
How long do I have to bring a malpractice claim in Indiana?
Medical malpractice claims in Indiana must generally be brought within two years of the act or omission. Wrongful death claims have a separate two-year period measured from the date of death. Filing the proposed complaint with the Indiana Department of Insurance tolls the limitations period until 90 days after the panel’s opinion.
Who sits on a medical review panel?
The panel includes three health care providers who vote on the question of whether the standard of care was met, along with an attorney chairperson who does not vote. Each side may submit evidence, and the panel issues a written opinion. That opinion is not binding, but it can be used later in the case.
How long does the panel process take?
The panel is expected to issue its opinion within 180 days, but the parties can agree to extend that deadline and often do. In practice, gathering records, retaining experts, and scheduling submissions mean the overall process can run well beyond that window before a lawsuit is even filed.
What if I was partly responsible for my own injury?
Indiana does not automatically bar you. As long as your share of fault is not greater than the combined fault of the other parties, you can recover, with your damages reduced by your percentage. At 51 percent or more, recovery is barred, so how your conduct is characterized can decide the case.
Can I sue a hospital if the doctor was an independent contractor?
Possibly. Many physicians who treat patients in a hospital are not direct employees, and the hospital may argue it is not responsible for their decisions. Whether the hospital shares liability depends on the facts, including how care was arranged and what the patient was told, and our attorneys sort this out when identifying defendants and insurance policies.
Is a bad outcome the same thing as malpractice?
No. Complications can occur even when providers do everything correctly. A malpractice claim requires proof that a provider departed from accepted practice and that the departure caused your injury. An expert review of the records is how we separate genuine negligence from an unfortunate but unavoidable result.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
Generally, yes, and you should use it. Needed care should never wait on a legal claim. Your insurer may have a right to be repaid from a settlement or verdict, so we track those liens and negotiate them as part of resolving your case.
Can a family bring a claim after a loved one dies from a medical error?
Yes. A wrongful death claim in Indiana must be brought within two years of the date of death, and when the death followed alleged malpractice, the medical review panel process typically applies as well. Surviving family members may seek compensation for funeral costs, lost financial support, and the loss of the relationship.
What if the harm came from a defective device and not a provider’s mistake?
Then the claim may belong against the manufacturer. Our attorneys have handled complex device and drug litigation, including a $165 million worldwide class action settlement involving defective heart valves, and we evaluate whether product liability, malpractice, or both are the right path.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if my injuries seem minor?
That depends on the harm and the cost of proving it. Malpractice cases require expert review and procedural steps that make small claims difficult to pursue. A consultation will tell you whether the damages justify the effort and whether another route, such as a billing dispute or a complaint to a licensing board, fits better.
Serving Injury and Malpractice Clients Across Indianapolis and Central Indiana
Our attorneys represent patients and families throughout Indianapolis and the surrounding communities of Central Indiana. That includes Lawrence on the northeast side, Carmel and Fishers to the north, and Noblesville in Hamilton County, along with Avon and Plainfield to the west and Greenwood to the south. Cases arising from care at hospitals serving this area, including claims against large health systems, are handled by lawyers who prepare each file for panel review and for trial.
Beyond Central Indiana, Whitfield Crosby & Flynn serves injured people in Southern Illinois, including Marion, Carbondale, Herrin, Carterville, Benton, West Frankfort, Murphysboro, and Harrisburg, as well as Franklin and Williamson Counties. In Western Kentucky, we represent clients in Madisonville and Hopkins County, Earlington, Nortonville, Dawson Springs, Hanson, Mortons Gap, White Plains, Nebo, St. Charles, and Marion in Crittenden County. In Southeast Tennessee, we serve Chattanooga and Hamilton County, East Ridge, Red Bank, Hixson, Ooltewah, Collegedale, Soddy-Daisy, and Cleveland.
Speak With a Franciscan Health Indianapolis Injury Attorney Today
If you believe a hospital’s care left you or someone you love with a serious injury, the clock started running the day the harm occurred. A conversation with a Franciscan Health Indianapolis injury attorney at Whitfield Crosby & Flynn will tell you where your case stands, which deadlines apply, and whether the evidence supports a claim worth pursuing.
Call us to schedule a consultation. We will review what happened, explain how the medical review panel process would work in your situation, and give you a direct line to the attorney handling your case.