About a year later, the deceased’s estate filed a complaint in the trial court against the Hospital, Franciscan Alliance, Inc. d/b/a Franciscan Health Indianapolis, alleging that Hospital employees were negligent in maintenance and inspection of the anesthesia machine….medicalmalpracticelawyers.com, Indiana Appellate Court Rules Anesthesia Machine Failure Claim Is Not Medical Malpractice Claim, July 2024
The Court of Appeals of Indiana stated: “Here, the claimed misconduct concerns the action or inaction of the technicians and engineers in the Engineering Department with regard to their inspection and maintenance of internal electrical components of the anesthesia machine at a time prior to Robert’s surgery. The allegedly negligent conduct did not “involve[] provision of medical services” or “the exercise of professional medical judgment or skill by the medical provider.” Doe, 194 N.E.2d at 1201; West, 23 N.E.3d at 728. Indeed, in conducting an investigation into what occurred with the machine, the Engineering Department saw no need to speak to or consult with the anesthesiologist or surgeon, who each subsequently testified that they did not know anything about how the anesthesia machine worked and that it was for the biomedical team to determine what happened.”
“We find that the Estate’s claims in the Complaint are capable of resolution by a jury “without application of the standard of care prevalent in the local medical community” … we conclude that the Estate’s claims concerning the adequacy of the Engineering Department’s inspection and maintenance of the anesthesia machine sound in general negligence rather than medical malpractice.”