Lawmakers consider increase to malpractice payment cap

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State lawmakers are set to consider increasing Indiana’s cap on medical malpractice payments for the first time in 17 years.

The proposal scheduled for review by an Indiana Senate committee on Monday would boost the current limits on what malpractice victims could receive by $400,000 to $1.65 million. The new cap would increase every four years based on the national inflation rate.

Bill sponsor Republican Senator Brent Steele of Bedford says he’s trying to protect the malpractice cap from court challenges claiming that it is no longer equitable.

Indiana State Medical Association spokeswoman Marilyn Carter tells the Indianapolis Business Journal the group is worried the changes could hurt access to health care.

Dan Ladendorf of the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association says the cap minimizes the harm from medical malpractice.