Indiana Code
Ind. Code § 34-18-8-4 (2026)
Prerequisites to commencement of action; presentation of claim to medical review panel
✓ current as of May 2026
Sec. 4. Notwithstanding section 1 of this chapter, and except as provided in sections 5 and 6 of this chapter, an action against a health care provider may not be commenced in a court in Indiana before:
(1) the claimant's proposed complaint has been presented to a medical review panel established under IC 34-18-10 (or IC 27-12-10 before its repeal); and
(2) an opinion is given by the panel.
[Pre-1998 Recodification Citation: 27-12-8-4.]
As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.13.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 123
cases (33 in the last 5 years), 1999–2026 · leading case: Kho v. Pennington, 875 N.E.2d 208 (Ind. 2007).
Kho v. Pennington, 875 N.E.2d 208 (Ind. 2007). “Ind.Code § 34-18-8-4 ("section 4"). Section 4 generally prohibits the commencement of an action in court against a health care provider until both "the claimant's proposed complaint has been presented to a medical review panel" and "an opinion is given by the panel.”
Boggs v. Tri-State Radiology, Inc., 730 N.E.2d 692 (Ind. 2000). “See Ind.Code § 34-18-8-4 (1998). This process may also be time consuming, but it is surely preferable to immediate full-blown litigation.”
Howard Reg'l Health Sys. v. Gordon, 952 N.E.2d 182 (Ind. 2011). “Ind.Code § 34-18-8-4. A trial court's authority to rule on preliminary matters is to be narrowly construed.”
Billie Thompson v. Lance Cope, 900 F.3d 414 (7th Cir. 2018). “See Ind. Code § 34-18-8-4 . The medical review panel requirement is a substantive feature of the Act that must be enforced in federal court.”
Shacare Terry v. Cmty. Health Network, Inc., 17 N.E.3d 389 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014). “Indiana Code section 34-18-8-4 states, however, that “an action against a health care provider may not be commenced in a court in Indiana before: (1) the claimant’s proposed complaint has been presented to a medical review panel .”
Popovich v. Danielson, 896 N.E.2d 1196 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). “Under the Medical Malpractice Act, malpractice is “a tort or breach of contract based on health care or professional services that were provided, or that should have been provided, by a health care provider, to a patient.” Ind.”
Lusk v. Swanson, 753 N.E.2d 748 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001). “The Act also provides that no action may be commenced in any court of this state before the claimant's proposed complaint has been presented to a medical review panel and the panel renders an opinion.”
Spaulding v. Harris, 914 N.E.2d 820 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009). “Ind. Code § 34-18-8-4 (1). A medical review panel consists of three licensed healthcare providers and is chaired by one attorney.”
Charles McKeen, M.D. v. Billy Turner, 61 N.E.3d 1251 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016). “Within twenty days of the filing of the proposed complaint, either party may request the formation of an MRP. I.C. § 34-18-10-2. Upon formation, the MRP chairperson may establish a schedule for “submission of evidence” to the MRP and must allow' sufficient time “for the parties…”
Pluard Ex Rel. Pluard v. Patients Comp. Fund, 705 N.E.2d 1035 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999). “[2] In Lomax , the issues were framed this way because Winona had moved to dismiss the plaintiff's complaint on the grounds that she had failed to comply with the Act by failing to present a proposed complaint to the Insurance Commission for review by a medical review panel…”
Whitfield v. Wren, 14 N.E.3d 792 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014). “Code § 34-18-8-4 provides in relevant part that “an action against a health care provider may not be commenced in a court in Indiana before: (1) the claimant’s proposed complaint has been presented to a medical review panel established under IC 34-18-10 ...; and (2) an opinion…”
Mary (Jones) Shirey v. Rex Flenar, M.D., 89 N.E.3d 1102 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017). “Code § 34-18-8-4 . The only evidence Dr. Flenar designated in support of his motion was Shirey’s complaint and his own affidavit explaining what happened with Shirey’s records.”
— Ind. Code § 34-18-8-4(2) — 1 case
Spaulding v. Harris, 914 N.E.2d 820 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009). “Ind. Code § 34-18-8-4 (1). A medical review panel consists of three licensed healthcare providers and is chaired by one attorney.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.