In Massachusetts, strong public policy mandates the highest quality of care in our health care facilities and the prompt discipline of errant physicians. That public policy is represented in a strict regulatory scheme covering virtually all aspects of hospital operations. Integral to this scheme is “an effective process for self-scrutiny, manifest most prominently in the […]
The March 2017 issue of Legal News discussed a Superior Court case holding that a pharmacy had no duty to notify a prescribing physician that a patient’s health insurer required “prior authorization” to cover the cost of medication and, therefore, the pharmacy could not be held liable for the patient’s death resulting from the failure […]
Medical malpractice cases are often cumbersome and lengthy. The tribunal process alone can take as long as a year, and sometimes even more. In 2018, this will all change thanks to Superior Court Rule 73 recently approved by the Supreme Judicial Court. How Medical Malpractice Tribunals Work Today As discussed in the December 2015 issue […]
Although commonly referred to as a “negligence claim,” there are four elements required to prevail on a personal injury claim of negligence – duty, breach, cause, and harm. The first two elements combine to form what is known as “negligence.” A plaintiff must first establish that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care, […]
Plaintiff loses appeal for injury-at-birth claim Sometimes after a lawsuit is commenced, facts will emerge through the discovery process identifying new claims or additional defendants. When that happens, under procedural rules, a Plaintiff can file a motion to amend the complaint and add facts, parties or causes of action. In Massachusetts, such amendments to the […]
