Recent Massachusetts News
July 2016 Newsletter
New Mexico Legislators Find Solutions to Out-of-State Liability Concerns Patients in New Mexico who seek treatment from neighboring states now have more assurance that care will available to them without physicians feeling threatened by out-of-state liability laws....
A Flawed Medical Malpractice System
New York’s medical malpractice system needs comprehensive reforms. The writers note that many states allow patients to file suit based on when they discover that there was a medical error, but, unlike New York, most of those states also have caps on damages and other...
Mass. Malpractice Reforms Offer Faster, More Open Process For Injured Patients
When a woman had gall bladder surgery at a Massachusetts hospital in 2013, doctors noticed something suspicious on a CT scan that they thought could be ovarian cancer. But the recommendation that the patient get a pelvic ultrasound fell through the cracks. Months...
Current Medical Liability Laws
| Damage Caps | $500,000 cap on noneconomic damages, with exceptions for proof of substantial disfigurement or permanent loss or impairment of a bodily function, or other special circumstances which warrant a finding that imposition of such limitation would deprive the plaintiff of just compensation for the injuries sustained. |
| Joint Liability Reform | No. Each defendant is jointly and severally liable. |
| Collateral Source Reform | Collateral Source Rule applies in tort cases. See Law v. Griffith, 930 N.E.2d 126 (Mass. 2010). But in cases of medical malpractice benefits from collateral sources must be disclosed and used to reduce recoverable economic damages, minus any amount paid by the claimant to secure the benefit. |
| Attorney Fees Limited | Yes. Fees are limited to 40% of the first $150,000; 33 1/3% of the next $150,000 and 30% of the next $200,000; and 25% of amounts exceeding $500,000. An attorney may not take an amount that would leave the claimant with less than the amount of unpaid past and future medical expenses, with exceptions. |
| Periodic Payments Permitted | No |