New Indiana Case on Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress
In a recent opinion (Spangler v. Bechtel, cause number 49S05-1012-CV-703), the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that the parents’ claim for damages for negligent infliction of emotional distress from experiencing the stillbirth of their child was not barred by the Indiana Child Wrongful Death Act or the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act ("MMA"). After witnessing the death of their full-term child in utero during labor, the parents filed suit against the hospital (where child was delivered), nurse-midwife (provided pre-natal care and managed the delivery of the child at the hospital), and alleged employer of the nurse-midwife.
The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of all three defendants. It held that, as to the nurse-midwife and her alleged employer, the claim was governed by the Child Wrongful Death Act ("CWDA"), “under which a claim for the wrongful death of an unborn child was not cognizable at the time of the death of the plaintiffs' child in this case.” The trial court concluded:
(a) that the plaintiffs' claims for emotional distress could not proceed under the CWDA because they were based on the death of an unborn child, which was not a "child" for the purposes of the CWDA; (b) that the plaintiffs did not have valid claims for negligent infliction of emotional dis-tress because they do not identify any negligently-inflicted injuries on another as required under the modified impact rule nor did they sustain a direct impact or demonstrate sufficient "direct involvement."
During trial, the hospital first argued:
(a) because neither of the parents suffered physical injury and their claim is only for emotional injuries, such claim may only be asserted under the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act as one derivative of an injury to a patient covered by the MMA; (b) an unborn child is not a "patient" under the MMA; and (c) the parents thus may not bring any such derivative medical malpractice action under the MMA.
The hospital also argued “that it was neither liable for any failures in the manner in which Bechtel was supervised nor vicariously liable for her actions,” and “that the plaintiffs' negligent credentialing claim is barred because such claim was not specifically submitted to a medical review panel under the MMA.”
As to the hospital, the trial court found "there is no material issue of fact that the Plaintiffs' claim for wrongful death of a fetus is precluded by Indiana law." Plaintiffs appealed as to all three defendants.
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed as to all three defendants and all three defendants appealed to the Indiana Supreme Court. Spangler v. Bechtel, 931 N.E.2d 387 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010). The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer and affirmed the decision by the Court of Appeals and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings.
