Indiana Patient's Compensation Fund v. Judy Holcomb, Personal Representative of the Estate of Mable Louise Cochran, Deceased

Summary

The Indiana Supreme Court held that the Medical Malpractice Act's 15% attorney-fee cap applies to fees an attorney may charge a client from an award paid by the Patient's Compensation Fund, but does not reduce the Fund's liability for excess damages. The court affirmed the trial court's award of $50,440 to the Estate of Mable Louise Cochran for attorney fees as an element of adult wrongful-death damages. The court declined to judicially rewrite the statute to impose a reduction in Fund liability or prescribe a calculation methodology.

Holdings

1. Indiana Code section 34-18-18-1 limits the fees an attorney may charge the client from the client's award from the Patient's Compensation Fund, but it does not reduce or otherwise lessen the Fund's liability to the claimant for excess damages, including reasonable attorney fees recoverable under the Adult Wrongful Death Statute.
2. The court may not judicially revise the fee-cap provision to reduce the Fund's liability, particularly where the statute does not specify which of several possible calculation methods should apply.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Indiana Code section 34-18-18-1, which provides that an attorney's fees from an award made from the Patient's Compensation Fund may not exceed 15 percent of the recovery from the Fund, also reduces the Fund's liability to an adult wrongful-death claimant.
2. Whether the court may judicially expand or rewrite the fee-cap provision to impose a reduction in the Fund's liability when the statute does not specify such a reduction or a calculation method.

Disposition

affirmed