Recent Massachusetts News
Romney: Why I’d repeal ObamaCare
Friday is the second anniversary of ObamaCare. It is past time to abolish the program, root and branch. The Supreme Court will soon have a crack at this; arguments about the program's constitutionality open before it next week. But whatever the justices decide in what...
Healthy reform needed
Massachusetts may soon adopt some medical malpractice reforms in an effort to rein in health care costs, but will they be anything close to what we need? A new report by the Pioneer Institute suggests that what’s on the table at the moment falls short. A proposal by...
Continue health reform
News that the Norwich OB/GYN Group is closing is evidence that the job of reforming the health care system is not over. The closing will be a hardship for the 5,000 patients who now have to seek care elsewhere. It creates a potential shortage in obstetric and...
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 |