Goleski v. Fritz

ON PETITION FOR TRANSFER

BOEHM, Justice.

We hold that claims made by a patient's "representative" under the Medical Malpractice Act survive the death of the representative and pass to the representative's estate. Derivative claims for medical malpractice such as a claim by a spouse for loss of consortium generally survive the death of the claimant under the Survival Statute.

Factual and Procedural Background

Lawrence Vetter was admitted to Starke Memorial Hospital on March 21, 1995. He was treated by defendant physicians Walter Fritz, M.J. Subba Rao, Thach Nguyen, Usha Sharma, and Donald…