Articles Posted in Massachusetts Medical Malpractice

That is a very difficult question which often cannot be answered with real accuracy.  Here is a good article provided by freeadvice.com on common factors used to determine the relative value of a medical malpractice case:

Jurisdiction: Where the injury occurred can sometimes have as much to do with the amount of damages or settlement you can collect as the injury itself. The rules about unprofessional conduct and doctor liability vary from state to state. Your attorney will help you establish the venue and jurisdiction of your case and advise you on what, if any, limitations the state places on your potential medical malpractice settlement or damage award.

Potential state caps: Since states are generally responsible for issues of medical malpractice, many have instituted caps on malpractice damages as a deterrent to frivolous claims. These include taking the amount available to an injured person through “collateral sources” such as health insurance out of the settlement, limiting the payment of damages to installment plans instead of lump-sum payments, and capping damages altogether. Check with a medical malpractice lawyer within the jurisdiction in which you were injured to figure out if there are caps on what you can claim in your medical malpractice case.

All medical malpractice cases in Massachusetts have a statute of limitations of three years.  But, sometimes the malpractice is hard or impossible to detect.  Therefore, in such cases, the statute of limitations begins, or accrues when the victim learns or reasonably should have learned of the malpractice.  But, no Massachusetts medical malpractice case can begin more than seven years from the date of the actual malpractice.  The exception to this rule is when a foreign object is left inside the victim’s body.   

Massachusetts medical malpractice cases are taken on a contingency fee basis.  What that means is that your attorney(s) will take a percentage of any settlement or verdict amount that is recovered in your case.  In Massachusetts, there are caps on the amount of these contingency fees in medical malpractice cases.  They are the following: 40% of the first $150,000.00 recovered, 33% of the next $150,000.00, 30% of the next $200,000.00, and 25% of any recovery greater than $500,000.00.

As you may or may not know, most Massachusetts medical malpractice plaintiffs lose in court.  In fact, roughly 90% of Massachusetts medical malpractice cases that go to trial are won by the defense.  The truth is that Massachusetts jurors are hesitant to find against a doctor.  The bottom line is that it is extremely difficult to successfully sue a doctor in a Massachusetts court.

It is essential that your Massachusetts medical malpractice attorney find and retain a qualified and experienced expert witness.  The expert witness will be a doctor who is willing to testify against the defendant-doctor.  For obvious reasons, many doctors refuse to testify against a fellow doctor.  But, there are doctors who are willing to serve as expert witnesses. 

Massachusetts expert witnesses are very expensive.  It is your attorney, pursuant to the contingency fee agreement that you signed, who will pay for and advance the costs associated with the expert testimony.  Without an expert witness who is willing to testify that the defendant-doctor somehow – and these are the buzz words – breached "the standard of care," then you have no case against the doctor(s) whom you are suing.

Former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis’ medical malpractice trial resulted in a mistrial this week.  Weis’ attorneys moved for a mistrial after one of the jurors collapsed in the courtroom.  The defendant doctors, upon seeing the juror collapse, rushed to the juror to provide aid.  Upon seeing this unfold, Weis’ attorney moved for a mistrial due to the effect this event may have had on the other jurors.  Here is more on this story provided by Yahoo News.

Former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, who now is the head football coach at Notre Dame, has a medical malpractice trial starting in the Suffolk Superior Court in February, 2007.  The case stems from a botched gastric bypass surgery performed in 2002.  Here is an article on this case provided by WBZ News Radio 1030:

Usually, if you consult a Massachusetts medical malpractice attorney he/she will likely send your medical records to an impartial doctor to see if your treating doctor (the doctor you claim committed medical malpractice) deviated from the "standard of care."  If the reviewing doctor does see such a deviation, then your attorney(s) may take on your case and represent you.  These cases are tough and your attorney(s) needs to hear from an impartial doctor that your treating doctor may have deviated from the SOC. 

Here is a list, provided by the Boston, Massachusetts personal injury firm of Swartz & Swartz of some common types of Massachusetts medical malpractice claims:

Surgical Negligence – such as the negligent performance of a surgical procedure, the use of improper medical equipment, negligent failure to respond to certain signs and symptoms during surgery, or leaving an instrument or foreign body inside of a patient following surgery.

Birth Injuries – which may arise when there has been negligent medical or nursing care before, during or immediately following birth, such as the negligent failure to perform a caesarian section delivery. Birth trauma resulting from medical negligence can cause death and catastrophic injuries, including cerebral palsy, shoulder dystocia, brain damage, developmental impairments and neurological injury.

The following may lead to more unfortunate medical malpractice cases stemming from over-extended doctors and their lack of sufficient hospital resources.  This story comes courtesy of msn.com:

WEDNESDAY, June 14 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. emergency medical system is in critical condition and on life support — overburdened, under-funded, and highly fragmented, according to three new reports released Wednesday by the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

According to the reports, ambulances are being turned away from emergency departments and patients can wait hours or even days for a hospital bed. And, as it stands, the system is currently unprepared to handle overloads of patients from disasters such as hurricanes, bombings, or disease outbreaks, the authors contended.

In the state of Massachusetts, many people each and every year claim to have been the victim of medical negligence.  And many people are in fact injured as a result of medical negligence.  But, it is tough, real tough, to win such cases in Massachusetts.  It is widely believed that only one out of ten medical malpractice cases actually prevail in Massachusetts.  Since the odds are clearly in favor of defense attorneys in these cases, plaintiff lawyers have to be very selective about what medical malpractice cases they take on.  Therefore, if you feel you have a case, you may need to consult with more than one attorney before you find an attorney that will agree to take on your case.

Tags: Massachusetts personal injury and medical malpractice