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Steele: Deal close on medical malpractice reform bill

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Dave Stafford for www.theindianalawyer.com

Plaintiff and defense lawyers and state officials are close to an agreement on legislation to reform Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act, a key state senator said Tuesday.

Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, cited ongoing discussions among stakeholders in pulling proposed draft legislation from consideration Tuesday by the Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary. He read a letter from the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association requesting a delay as talks with representatives of the governor’s and attorney general’s offices proceed.

The committee previously took testimony on proposals to increase the current statutory $1.25 million cap on malpractice damages and revise the medical review panel procedure required before any medical malpractice claim greater than $15,000 may be heard in court.

The ITLA letter indicated parties involved in the discussion were close to an agreement on key issues to be included in legislation when the General Assembly convenes in January.

“I expect everybody to come to the table with an agreed bill,” Steele told the committee.

Steele, who chairs the study committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, outlined his expectations for legislation. He said a bill should include an increase in the cap, a mechanism to adjust the cap for inflation, and an increase of the $15,000 review panel threshold to $75,000. He said legislation also should cap attorney fees, and vowed to introduce measures with these provisions if an agreed bill doesn’t include them.

Negotiators working on compromises are motivated by recent court rulings in other states that have struck down caps on medical malpractice as unconstitutional and the possibility of a case arising here with a similar outcome. Steele said those involved in the talks believe, “if we don’t do something, we’re going to mess up the entire (malpractice) act.”

LETTER TO THE EDITOR BY LAURA BLACKBURN

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TO THE EDITOR OF CCO:

I am writing to say a huge “Thank you” to the person or persons who made the file on the investigation of the admitted predatory activities of Jack Schriber available to the media. If you had not done what you did,  Mayor Lloyd Winnecke would have not made the information public until after the election, if ever, because he wanted the votes that the immensely popular educator would “pull” for him. The Mayor had encouraged his friend and mentor to run because he knew the respect people had for Jack would win votes for the entire GOP ticket.

Now, Winnecke has admitted that he knew about the investigation in July. It is important to note that he only saw fit to tell the whole truth about when he knew what after Rob Faulkner spoke with the media about the certainty that Winnecke and Bolin attempted a Watergate-style cover up of the truth until after the election. They knew they needed the votes that Mr. Schriber would bring to their ticket.

I think we should award our mayor an honorary “BS” in “integrity,” as he claims he was “protecting the integrity of the investigation.” The truth is that he allowed Mr. Schriber to continue campaigning for nearly three months.  He had planned to keep the secret and let t Mr. Szhriber serve on City Council as a “rubber stamp” to whatever he wanted. It would have been easy to get whatever he wanted from Schriber as long as he had that file. If the cat somehow got out of the bag, he could always get Schriber to resign and Winnecke and Wayne Parke would install another person to do their bidding. A true friend would have gone to Schriber and asked him to bow out of the race in July, instead of subjecting him to what Jack has faced in the past two days. The always self-serving Mayor chose to take a chance on keeping things quiet and benefitting from the votes, instead of allowing his “dear friend” to save face.

Even worse, what Winnecke and Parke have done is effectively attempt to steal the At-Large votes and cast them for their choice of a person to sit on Council, as they are sure that they can work their will on the party caucus. I have heard that the planned substitute for Schriber is none other than Wayne Parke himself.

Those of you who still wish to vote for Republicans should not vote a “straight ticket” unless you want to give up your vote for Council-at-Large. If enough straight ballots are cast to allow Mr. Schriber to win, that will let Parke and Winnecke choose who fills the vacant seat. If you don’t want them to make your choice for you, you should vote for individual names and leave Mr. Schriber out.  By not running anyone against Weaver, they’ve already compromised the votes of their party members, but this makes it even worse. If you already voted absentee, you can cancel that ballot by going to the polls in person.

Even if you are a die-hard Republican, please ask yourself if you believe Winnecke is fit for office. The pathetic job of leadership he has done this past four years and his clear dishonesty by continuing to use Jack Schriber once he knew that Schriber was unfit for office should make it hard for anyone to support him. Evansville deserves better than this.

Sincerely

Laura Blackburn

Evansville 

Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
 DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.

EPD Activity Reports

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
 DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.

Final three of 2015 on the road for USI

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University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer hits the road for its final three contests of 2015. The Screaming Eagles are slated to travel to St. Louis, Missouri, to visit Maryville University Friday at 3 p.m. and the University of Missouri-St. Louis Sunday at noon before concluding the season in Louisville, Kentucky, at nationally-ranked Bellarmine University October 28 at 4 p.m.

Coverage of USI’s season-ending road trip, including live stats and video, can be found at GoUSIEagles.com.

Week 8 Eagle Notes:

Eagles shutout during homestand. The Eagles concluded the 2015 home schedule with a pair of shutout losses at Strassweg Field. USI was defeated by Truman State University, 3-0, last Friday and lost a hard-fought match with Quincy University, 1-0, on Senior Day Sunday.

Scoring Leaders. Senior forward Madi Vellky and freshman forward Ryley Hancock remain tied for the team-lead in scoring with eight points each. Vellky has eight points on three goals and two assists, while Hancock has two goals and a team-high four assists. The Eagles, currently, have a three-way tie for the team-high in goals scored between Vellky, junior defender Kelsey Smith and freshman defender Olivia Wilde with three goals each.
 
Between the posts this season. Freshman goalkeeper Emily Hopkins saw her goals against average (GAA) go to 1.60 after this weekend. She has made 69 saves and allowed 20 goals in 1124 minutes of play.

Lohmann shined versus Quincy. Senior goalkeeper Jackie Lohmann took the loss in the match with Quincy, despite making a career-high 13 saves. Lohmann has a 1.43 GAA this season with 19 saves and three goals allowed in 189 minutes of action.

Engelbrecht in her 13th year. USI Head Coach Krissy Engelbrecht has a 93-117-19 overall record at USI, but is 56-54-7 in her last six-plus seasons.

USI and Maryville. The Eagles lead the all-time series with Maryville, 3-2-1, after tying the Saints, 2-2 in double overtime last fall at Strassweg Field. USI lost to Saints, 4-1, in its last visit to Maryville.

Maryville in 2015. The Saints are 5-6-3 overall, 4-5-3 in the GLVC, and are ninth in the league standings. The GLVC coaches picked Maryville to finish 11th in this year’s preseason poll.

USI and UMSL. USI trails 11-9-0 in the all-time series against UMSL after losing a 3-0 decision to the Tritons last fall at Strassweg Field. Despite last season’s loss, the Eagles have won four of the last six matches with the Tritons, including three victories in St. Louis.

UMSL in 2015. The Tritons, who host 13th-ranked Bellarmine University Friday night before welcoming the Eagles to the UMSL campus, are tied for second in the GLVC with a 10-1-3 overall mark and an 8-1-3 record in the GLVC. The GLVC coaches predicted UMSL would finish ninth in this year’s preseason poll.

USI and Bellarmine. USI trails 12-6-3 in the all-time series against Bellarmine despite tying the Knights, 2-2, in double overtime at Strassweg Field last fall. USI will be looking to break a 12-match winless streak against Bellarmine in the season finale and post its first win over the Knights since 2004.

Bellarmine in 2015. The 13th-ranked Knights lead the GLVC standings with a 13-1-1 overall record and a 10-1-1 GLVC mark. Bellarmine suffered its first loss of the season last Friday when it was defeated by Quincy University, 3-0. The GLVC coaches predicted Bellarmine would win the conference in this year’s preseason poll.

WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN

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Governor Pence Statement on September Indiana Employment Report

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Indianapolis – Governor Mike Pence today issued the following statement following the news that Indiana’s unemployment has dropped 0.1 percent in September and now stands at 4.5 percent.

 

“The news that unemployment continues to fall in Indiana is a source of encouragement. More Hoosiers are working than ever before in state history, and the fact that our labor force participation rates are outpacing national averages is a testament to Indiana’s growing economy.

 

“My administration is committed to building upon this momentum. We’ll continue to pursue policies that will encourage greater economic development in the Hoosier state while making investments in workforce, education and infrastructure. With our strong Hoosier workforce and disciplined fiscal leadership, Indiana can serve as the blueprint for success when it comes to a growing economy.”

Adopt a Pet

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Blackberry is a 4-year-old female solid black cat! She’s a snuggle bug and likes other cats. Her $30 adoption fee includes her spay, microchip, vaccines, and more. Visit www.vhslifesaver.org or call (812) 426-2563 for adoption details!

LARGEST NATIONAL LUNG CANCER AWARENESS EVENT coming to Evansville.

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Each November, the Lung Cancer Alliance’s Shine a Light on Lung Cancer Vigil brings together all of those impacted by lung cancer to Reflect, Celebrate, and Remember Together.

Evansville will join more than 300 communities across the country to provide hope, inspiration and support for those impacted by this disease. The program will include stories from lung cancer survivors, information about the current and future state of lung cancer treatment from physicians, pastoral reflections, instrumental music and more.

WHERE:  Methodist Temple, 2109 Lincoln Ave, Evansville, Indiana

WHEN:  Thursday, November 5, 2014 at 6:00pm

WEBSITE:  www.lungcanceralliance.org/shine-a-light-on-lung-cancer

Hosted by Gilda’s Club, this event is made possible through a partnership between Deaconess Health System, St. Mary’s Health, Vantage Oncology, and Oncology Hematology Associates.

Upcoming Events

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