Frances L. Batchelder, Special Administrator of the Estate of John E. Batchelder, M.D. v. Indiana University Health Care Associates, INC, d/b/a IUHP

FILED
May 14 2020, 8:37 am

CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE
Gabriel A. Hawkins Stacy F. Thompson
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Frances L. Batchelder, Special May 14, 2020
Administrator of the Estate of Court of Appeals Case No.
John E. Batchelder, M.D., 19A-CT-2569
Deceased, Appeal from the Marion Superior
Appellant-Plaintiff, Court
The Honorable Timothy Oakes,
v. Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
Indiana University Health Care 49D02-1808-CT-31406
Associates, INC, d/b/a IUHP,
Appellee-Defendant.

Tavitas, Judge.

Case Summary
[1] Frances L. Batchelder, special administrator of the estate (“the Estate”) of John

E. Batchelder, M.D. (the “Decedent”), appeals from the trial court’s entry of

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 summary judgment in favor of Indiana University Health Care Associates, Inc.

d/b/a IUHP (“IUHP”) regarding the Estate’s medical malpractice action. We

reverse and remand.

Issue
[2] The sole issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred in granting IUHP’s

motion for summary judgment and finding that IUHP was entitled to judgment

as a matter of law.

Facts
[3] The Decedent, who was a practicing cardiologist, was also a paraplegic. On

September 25, 2015, a vehicle driven by Emma Mourouzis collided with the

Decedent’s vehicle on a Hamilton County roadway. The Decedent was

transported to Indiana University Health North Hospital. An IUHP radiologist

misread the Decedent’s x-rays, failed to diagnose the Decedent’s cervical spine

fracture, and released the Decedent. On September 27, 2015, the Decedent

sought a second opinion from another medical provider, who diagnosed the

spine fracture and performed neurosurgery.

[4] On April 19, 2016, the Decedent filed a complaint for damages against

Mourouzis. The Decedent died on April 21, 2016. On June 17, 2016, the

Estate filed an amended complaint for damages against Mourouzis. In the

course of discovery, the Estate alleged total damages of “between six and ten

million [dollars].” Tr. Vol. II p. 11. On March 13, 2017, Mourouzis settled all

claims arising from the collision for $1.25 million.

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[5] On June 14, 2017, the Estate filed a proposed complaint for damages with the

Indiana Department of Insurance. A medical review panel “found that the

[IUHP] radiologist . . . violated the standard of care” when he misread the

Decedent’s x-rays, regarded “an unstable cervical spinal fracture . . . . as a

chronic injury that had been there for a long time[,]” and released the

Decedent, when the Decedent’s injury warranted immediate surgery. Id.

[6] On August 8, 2018, the Estate filed a wrongful death complaint against Indiana

University Health, Inc., and IUHP, alleging that their provision of negligent

medical care resulted in the Decedent’s death. 1 On June 13, 2019, IUHP

moved for summary judgment and argued that the Estate was not entitled to

additional damages because: (1) the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act

(“MMA”) “cap[s]” the Estate’s damages at $1.25 million; and (2) the Estate

already obtained $1.25 million. IUHP’s Br. p. 6.

[7] On July 9, 2019, the Estate filed a stipulation of dismissal as to Indiana

University Health, Inc., which the trial court approved the same day. The trial

court conducted a hearing on IUHP’s motion for summary judgment on

September 4, 2019. The Estate argued that the setoff for the $1.25 million

Mourouzis settlement should be deducted from the total damages or the value

of the case; whereas, IUHP argued that the $1.25 million setoff should be

applied to the $1.25 million statutory limit, which would render the Estate’s

1
The jury trial was scheduled for April 2020.

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 claim moot. On October 18, 2019, the trial court granted IUHP’s motion for

summary judgment. The Estate now appeals.

Analysis
[8] The Estate argues that the trial court erred in entering summary judgment in

favor of IUHP. Specifically, the Estate argues that: (1) setoff should be applied

to the verdict; and (2) the trial court’s decision to apply the Mourouzis

settlement setoff to a possible judgment against IUHP “conflicts with

controlling precedent as well as the policy considerations that gave rise to such

precedent[.]” Estate’s Br. p. 7. IUHP counters that a jury verdict in excess of

the $1.25 million statutory cap must be reduced to the statutory cap prior to

becoming a judgment; and “[o]nce reduced, the judgment should then be

reduced by the amount of any payments received in settlement from another

joint tortfeasor.” Estate’s App. Vol. II p. 26. IUHP maintains that, doing so,

renders the Estate’s claim against IUHP moot because the Estate has already

recovered $1.25 million.

[9] In reviewing a grant or denial of a motion for summary judgment, we “stand in

the shoes of the trial court.” Murray v. Indianapolis Public Schools, 128 N.E.3d

450, 452 (Ind. 2019) (quoting Campbell Hausfeld/Scott Fetzer Company v. Johnson,

109 N.E.3d 953, 955-56 (Ind. 2018)). We consider “whether there is a genuine

issue of material fact, and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a

matter of law.” Goodwin v. Yeakle’s Sports Bar and Grill, Inc., 62 N.E.3d 384, 386

(Ind. 2016) (citation omitted); Ind. Trial Rule 56(C) (Summary judgment is

appropriate if the designated evidence “shows that there is no genuine issue as
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 to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a

matter of law.”).

[10] The party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of making a prima

facie showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving

party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Goodwin, 62 N.E.3d at 386; Tr.

R. 56(C). The burden then shifts to the non-moving party to show the existence

of a genuine issue of material fact. Id. On appellate review, we resolve “[a]ny

doubt as to any facts or inferences to be drawn therefrom . . . in favor of the

non-moving party.” Id.

[11] This matter is a medical malpractice action for wrongful death and is subject to

the MMA.

The [MMA] allows a “patient or the representative of a patient”
to bring a malpractice claim “for bodily injury or death.” Goleski
v. Fritz, 768 N.E.2d 889, 891 (Ind. 2002) (citing Ind. Code § 34-
18-8-1). The [MMA] was designed to curtail liability for medical
malpractice. It does not create substantive rights or new causes
of action and, instead, “merely requires that claims for medical
malpractice that are otherwise recognized under tort law and
applicable statutes be pursued through the procedures of the
[MMA].” The [MMA] provides that for an act of malpractice
occurring after June 30, 1999[, and before July 1, 2017,] the total
amount recoverable for an injury or death of a patient may not
exceed $1,250,000. I.C. § 34-18-14-3. A qualified healthcare
provider[ ] is liable for the initial $250,000 of damages, and the
remainder of the judgment or settlement amount shall be paid
from the [Patient Compensation] Fund. Id.

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 Wallen v. Hossler, 130 N.E.3d 138, 144 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019), trans. denied,

(quoting Atterholt v. Robinson, 872 N.E.2d 633, 639-40 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007))

(footnote omitted).

[12] The Estate alleges that Mourouzis and IUHP are joint tortfeasors whose acts or

omissions caused the Estate to suffer injury—namely, the Decedent’s death.

The Indiana Comparative Fault Act, which replaced the common law defense

of contributory negligence with a system for providing for the reduction of a

plaintiff’s recovery in proportion to the plaintiff’s fault, “expressly exempted

medical malpractice claims from its ambit[.]” Indiana Dept. of Ins. v. Everhart,

960 N.E.2d 129, 138 (Ind. 2012); see Palmer v. Comprehensive Neurologic Services,

P.C., 864 N.E.2d 1093, 1099-1100 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007), trans. denied. Thus, the

historic common law rule of joint and several liability 2 “remains available to

defendants in cases alleging medical malpractice.” Palmer, 864 N.E.2d at 1099.

[13] When the actions of multiple defendants cause a single injury to
a plaintiff, a defendant against whom judgment is rendered at
trial is entitled to a setoff against the assessed damages in the
amount of any funds the plaintiff received from any settling joint
tortfeasor. [ ] This credit is allowed in order to prevent a plaintiff
from recovering twice for the same injury. As our Supreme
Court outlined in [Mendenhall v. Skinner & Broadbent Co., 728
N.E.2d 140, 141 (Ind. 2000)], Indiana courts have traditionally
followed the “one satisfaction” principle, meaning that courts
should take account of settlement agreements and credit the

2
Under a theory of joint and several liability, “each defendant whose negligence contributed to the plaintiff’s
loss was liable for the entire amount of damages.” Shelton v. Kroger Ltd. Partnership I, 58 N.E.2d 229, 233
(Ind. Ct. App. 2016).

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 funds received by the plaintiff through such agreements, pro
tanto[ 3], toward the judgment against the co-defendants.

Id. at 1100-01 (emphasis in original) (citations omitted).

[14] Stated differently, “[u]nder the one satisfaction rule, where a plaintiff asserts

that the wrongful acts of two or more joint tortfeasors caused a single injury,

satisfaction of the loss by one tortfeasor releases all other joint tortfeasors.”

Minix v. Canarecci, 956 N.E.2d 62, 74 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011). The Restatement

(Third) of Torts: Apportionment of Liability § 25(a) (2000) summarizes the one

satisfaction rule as follows:

When a judgment includes a determination of the entirety of
recoverable damages suffered by the plaintiff for an indivisible
injury and provides for their recovery by the plaintiff
against one or more of the defendants, payment of the full
amount of recoverable damages constitutes a satisfaction
of the plaintiff’s rights against all tortfeasors legally
responsible for the plaintiff’s indivisible injury.

(emphasis added). Comment c to that section further provides
that “[w]hen a plaintiff obtains a judgment for all recoverable damages,
discharge of the judgment bars any further action against other
potential tortfeasors. . . . By obtaining the full amount of recoverable
damages, the plaintiff’s legal rights are satisfied, and the plaintiff
may not pursue any others for further recovery.” (emphases
added). See also Restatement (Second) of Judgments § 50 cmt. d
(1982) (“[W]hen a judgment is based on actual litigation of the measure

3
“Pro tanto” means “[t]o that extent; for so much; as far as it goes[.]” See BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY
(11th ed. 2019).

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 of a loss, and the judgment is thereafter paid in full, the injured
party has no enforcible [sic] claim against any other obligor who
is responsible for the same loss.” (emphasis added)).

Id. at 74 (emphasis in original).

[15] Palmer and Everhart are the seminal cases pertinent to our review of the Estate’s

argument. In Palmer, medical providers—CNS and Dr. Muckway—diagnosed

the decedent with multiple sclerosis, breached the standard of care regarding

treatment of the decedent’s seizures, and failed to diagnose the decedent’s viral

encephalopathy. After the decedent died, his widow, Palmer, sued the medical

providers, as well as certain non-health care providers, on a theory of joint and

several liability for medical malpractice resulting in the decedent’s wrongful

death. Palmer settled with the non-health care providers before the matter

proceeded to trial against the two medical providers; the combined settlements

from the non-health care providers exceeded $375,000.00. 4 The jury awarded

Palmer $375,000.00 in damages. The two medical providers subsequently

sought setoffs in the amounts that Palmer received in settlement from the non-

health care providers, which the trial court granted. The trial court stated: “The

jury having found for [Palmer] and against the [medical providers] in the

amount of $375,000 and the settlement contributions having exceed[ed] that amount,

the Court must deny [Palmer]’s Motions and enter a judgment [for] Plaintiff

4
“The appeal was filed under seal, so the settling parties and the terms of their settlements [were] omitted
from [our] opinion.” Palmer, 864 N.E.2d at 1104 n.2.

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 and award damages of $0.” Palmer, 864 N.E.2d at 1101 (emphasis added). On

appeal, this Court affirmed, reasoning:

. . . [T]he common law permitting setoffs remains, and the trial
court [ ] in permitting setoff, determined that the settlement
payments served as the same compensation of damages as the
jury’s verdict. It is the trial court’s duty to reduce jury verdicts by
amounts received in settlement to ensure that a plaintiff not receive more
than a full recovery. As the record in this case supports the trial court’s
conclusion that both the settlements and the verdict covered the injury of
Mr. Palmer’s death, we cannot say that the trial court erred in
determining that [the medical providers] met their burden . . . .

Id. at 1102 (emphasis added). The holding in Palmer, thus, reflected this Court’s

determination that Palmer received payment of the full amount of recoverable

damages, which constituted satisfaction of Palmer’s legal rights against the

various joint tortfeasors.

[16] In the same vein, in Everhart, the decedent was injured in a motor vehicle

collision with a semi-truck owned by Standard Forwarding Company (“SFC”).

A medical provider failed to administer a vital blood transfusion, and the

decedent died. The decedent’s survivors, Robin and Troy Everhart, sued the

truck driver, SFC, and the medical provider for the decedent’s wrongful death.

The Everharts settled with SFC for $1.9 million and with the medical provider

“for a lump-sum payment and future payment with a total present value of

$187,001.” Everhart, 960 N.E.2d at 132. The Everharts then sought excess

damages from the Patient Compensation Fund (“PCF”). As noted above,

Indiana Code Section 34-18-14-3 provides that a qualified healthcare provider is

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 liable for the initial $250,000.00 of damages, with the remainder of the

judgment or settlement amount to be paid from the PCF. After a bench trial,

the trial court found that the Everharts suffered damages of at least $3.15

million and awarded the PCF statutory maximum of $1 million to the

Everharts. The PCF filed a motion for setoff, arguing that the $1.9 million

settlement from SFC satisfied the Everharts’ legal claims. The trial court denied

the PCF’s request to reduce the award.

[17] In affirming the trial court, our Supreme Court observed: “The [trial] court

found that [the Everharts’] total injuries exceeded the sum of all distinct, legally

allowable awards of damages. A double recovery would therefore have been

impossible under a correct application of the setoff rules.” Everhart, 960 N.E.2d

at 137. Further, our Supreme Court held:

. . . [A] trial court has the power and duty to reduce a jury verdict
by an amount already received in an earlier settlement to ensure
that a plaintiff does not receive more than one recovery. Indeed,
we had already held that when a jury returned a verdict against a
jointly and severally liable defendant after another jointly and
severally liable defendant had already settled in exchange for a
covenant not to sue, a court should adjust pro tanto the amount of
any damages determined by the jury verdict by subtracting any
consideration received from the amount of any damages
determined by the jury verdict.

*****

Here, the PCF belatedly concedes that [the truck driver and
medical provider] constitute joint tortfeasors. [The truck driver’s]
negligent driving and [the medical provider]’s negligent medical

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 care both caused a single indivisible harm: Everhart’s death.
Under the pure common law rule of joint and several liability,
Robin could have sued either [the truck driver] or [the medical
provider] and recovered from the defendant of her choice
damages in the entire amount of the injuries she and Troy
suffered. The second defendant, however, would have been
entitled to a set-off from the total judgment against him in the
amount of any settlement Robin reached with the first. Because
the PCF assumes [the medical provider]’s liability over and
above the statutory cap in the [MMA], the PCF is entitled to the
same set-off and no more.

The trial court found that Robin and Troy suffered injuries of at
least $3.15 million. . . . [T]he court should have reduced its
finding on total injuries by $1.9 million on account of the
settlement with [SFC]. The court should have further reduced
that amount by another $250,000 on account of the settlement
with [the medical provider]’s insurance company. The
convenient result: $1 million in uncompensated damages, which
is precisely equal to the statutory limit of the PCF’s liability for
excess damages.

*****

The PCF concedes that [the medical provider] caused eighty
percent of the plaintiffs’ injuries. Because the only possible
causes of Everhart’s death are two known joint tortfeasors,
however, this concession is tantamount to conceding that [SFC]
caused the remaining twenty percent. Initially, the PCF would
be responsible for $2,520,000 [or 80% of $3.15 million] in
damages, whereas [SFC] would be responsible for $630,000 [or
20% of $3.15 million]. At most, the PCF would therefore only be
entitled to a set-off on account of the settlement with [SFC] to the
extent that it exceeded [SFC]’s liability. Giving the PCF the

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 benefit of this set-off in the amount of $1,270,000[ 5] and a further
$250,000 set-off on account of the settlement with [the medical
provider]’s insurance company would still leave a remaining $1
million [$2,520,000 - $1,270,000 - $250,000] in uncompensated
damages for the PCF to cover in excess damages payable to
Robin and Troy.

Reducing the finding on injuries by twenty percent and then
subtracting the full $1.9 million from the remainder, and then
another $250,000, as the PCF asks, effectively ignores that [SFC],
not Robin and Troy, should bear the remaining loss. Indeed,
doing so would magically wipe out $630,000 of Robin and Troy’s
total recovery and leave the PCF with a windfall in the same
amount. In essence, the PCF would succeed in turning the one-
satisfaction doctrine from a shield into a sword. The purpose of
the one-satisfaction doctrine is to prevent a plaintiff from
realizing more than one recovery. It is plainly not to reduce a
plaintiff to realizing less than one full recovery.

Id. at 138, 139-40 (citations and footnotes omitted) (emphasis in original). The

Everhart Court, thus, upheld the Everharts’ $1 million excess damages award

because the Everharts did not receive the full amount of recoverable damages

from SFC and, therefore, were entitled to seek excess damages from the PCF in

pursuit of the “one satisfaction” to which they were entitled.

[18] Here, in its order granting summary judgment for IUHP, the trial court found:

“[T]here are no genuine issues as to any material fact, and [IUHP] is entitled to

5
SFC caused twenty percent of the Everharts’ damages or $630,000.00; however, SFC settled with the
Everharts for $1,900,000. Thus, the Everhart court applied a setoff of $1,270,000.00, or the difference
between the amount of SFC’s settlement and SFC’s liability.

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 judgment as a matter of law[.]” Estate’s App. Vol. II p. 11. The record reveals

that, at the hearing on IUHP’s motion for summary judgment, the Estate

asserted that “the value of this case is between six and ten million [dollars].”

Tr. Vol. II p. 11. Counsel for the Estate further argued:

[M]y first argument, Your Honor, is that the overall value of this
case needs to be established first, that the issue is not ripe for
decision-making because we don’t know what the value is. We
know what the facts are and the allegations are. [Mourouzis]
and [IUHP] are joint tortfeasors in this case. And the court in
Everhart [ ] talks about the one satisfaction rule, and that is you
can have joint tortfeasors but you can’t collect more than the case
is worth. That’s the issue and that has been the law in Indiana
forever, that you can’t collect more than the value of the case.
My point is we don’t know the value of this case till we try it.
This is way premature to try to establish the value of the case
now before it’s even been tried.

Id. at 12-13.

[19] The Palmer and Everhart decisions highlight a crucial omission in the instant

case. In those cases, the jury or trial court determined the value of the case or

the entirety of the recoverable damages incurred by the plaintiffs before the trial

court applied any setoffs. See Palmer, 864 N.E.2d at 1101 (“The jury having

found for [Palmer] and against the [medical providers] in the amount of

$375,000 . . . .”); see Everhart, 960 N.E.2d at 139 (“The trial court found that

Robin and Troy suffered injuries of at least $3.15 million.”).

[20] In the instant case, however, the trial court applied the setoff without first

determining: (1) the value of the case or the extent of the Estate’s injury; and (2)

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 whether the Mourouzis settlement satisfied the Estate’s injury and made the

Estate whole. Forgoing this threshold determination, the trial court found that

the Mourouzis settlement satisfied the Estate’s losses such that the Estate was

not entitled to pursue additional damages from IUHP. We have found no

support for this conclusion.

[21] Assuming arguendo that the Estate correctly valued its injury at between six

and ten million dollars: (1) the $1.25 million Mourouzis settlement left

remaining several million dollars in uncompensated damages and did not make

the Estate whole; (2) the Estate would be entitled to seek the remaining balance

of the uncompensated damages, up to an additional $1.25 million, from IUHP

and the PCF; and (3) there would be no danger of the Estate receiving a double

recovery because, as the Everhart Court found, even if the Estate received an

additional $1.25 million from IUHP, the combined Mourouzis and IUHP

settlements would still fall short of the Estate’s “one satisfaction.”

[22] By prematurely applying the Mourouzis setoff to the statutory limit and

offsetting the IUHP judgment to zero, without first determining the value of

Estate’s case, the trial court denied the Estate the potential full recovery to

which it is legally entitled. See Everhart, 960 N.E.2d at 140 (“The purpose of the

one-satisfaction doctrine is to prevent a plaintiff from realizing more than one

recovery. It is [ ] not to reduce a plaintiff to realizing less than one full

recovery.”). Accordingly, we find that genuine issues of material fact exist;

and, thus, as to the amount of damages, IUHP was not entitled to judgment as

a matter of law.

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[23] For these reasons, the trial court erred in granting IUHP’s motion for summary

judgment and finding that IUHP was entitled to judgment as a matter of law;

we must, therefore, reverse the entry of summary judgment in favor of IUHP

and remand for further proceedings.

Conclusion
[24] The trial court erred in granting IUHP’s motion for summary judgment. We

reverse and remand.

[25] Reversed and remanded.

Najam, J., and Vaidik, J., concur.

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