The Court of Appeals recently held that a medical malpractice complaint is not considered filed upon mailing when a third-party commercial carrier is used to deliver the complaint to the Indiana Department of Insurance.
The Plaintiff in Moryl v. Ransone et al. was the surviving spouse of a patient that passed away while undergoing treatment at La Porte Hospital. The patient passed away on April 20, 2007. On Sunday, April 19, 2009, the Plaintiff mailed her medical malpractice complaint to the Indiana Department of Insurance through the commercial carrier, FedEx. The complaint was not delivered to the Department until April 21 – the day after the two-year statute of limitations had run on the Plaintiff’s claim.
At trial, the Defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that the Plaintiff’s failure to file her complaint within the statute of limitations barred her action. The trial court granted the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff appealed this grant, arguing that the complaint had properly been filed upon mailing it with FedEx.
Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act states that filing of a complaint under the act occurs once it is “delivered or mailed by registered or certified mail to the [Department of Insurance].” I.C. 34-18-8. However, Plaintiff attempted to rely upon Indiana Rule of Trial Procedure 5(F), which permits filings with courts to be mailed through commercial carriers, and considers them filed upon depositing with the carrier.
The Court of Appeals was unpersuaded by Plaintiff’s argument. The Court found the Medical Malpractice Act’s language unambiguous. Under the plain language of the statute, a plaintiff has only filed her complaint upon: (1) delivery to the Department of insurance; (2) mailing it via registered mail; or (3) mailing it via certified mail. Because Plaintiff did not mail her complaint via registered or certified mail, it was deemed filed upon deliver. Delivery occurred one day after the statute of limitations had run and therefore the claim was barred.
