Akey v. Parkview Hospital, Inc., 941 N.E.2d 540

Wayne Akey, 89, presented to Parkview Hospital ER on Dec 7, 2002 with apparent heart attack.
Dr. McEowen ordered a half-dose TNKase, half-dose ReoPro, and Heparin for Akey.
Staff administered half-dose TNKase and Heparin; instead of ReoPro, gave half-dose Retavase.
Akey suffered an intracranial hemorrhage on Dec 9, 2002 and died Jan 9, 2003.
Akey filed a medical malpractice complaint; medical review panel split: two panelists said hospital not a factor; one said material issue of fact; two could not determine liability factor.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Exclusion of Mirro testimony was proper?	Akey argues trial court abused discretion excluding Mirro's causation opinions.	Hospital argues Mirro's causation theory is unreliable and should be excluded under Evidence Rule 702.	Exclusion was an abuse of discretion; Mirro's testimony should have been admitted.
Was summary judgment appropriate without Mirro evidence?	Without Mirro, there remains a genuine issue of material fact on causation.	Without Mirro, no causation fact exists; summary judgment warranted.	Summary judgment reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

Shults-Lewis Child & Family Servs., Inc. v. Doe, 718 N.E.2d 739 (Ind. 1999) (trial court must have enough methodology to assess reliability of expert testimony)
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (U.S. Supreme Court, 1993) (five-factor reliability framework for scientific evidence)
Kovach v. Caligor Midwest, 913 N.E.2d 193 (Ind. 2009) (proximate cause analysis in medical malpractice context)
Wallace v. Meadow Acres Manufactured Hous., Inc., 730 N.E.2d 809 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000) (expert testimony must be weighted for reliability without automatic exclusion)
Norfolk S. Ry. Co. v. Estate of Wagers, 833 N.E.2d 93 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005) (focus on principles/methodology, not ultimate conclusions)
Sword v. NKC Hosp., Inc., 714 N.E.2d 142 (Ind. 1999) (expert causation evidence can preclude summary judgment)