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Statute of Limitations

Any medical malpractice action for injury or death must be brought within three years after the cause of action, but in no event more than seven years after the alleged act or omission occurred, except in the case of foreign object actions.

Comparative or contributory negligence

Modified comparative negligence whereby a claimant's action is barred if his negligence exceeds the combined negligence of all defendants. Otherwise, the claimant's recovery is diminished in proportion to his negligence

Nature of accused's liability

Joint defendants are jointly and severally liable

Law of contribution

joint defendants have a right of contribution liability for the judgment is divided equally among the joint defendants

Expert testimony standards

expert testimony must be presented to support a claim for medical malpractice

Limits on compensation

Non-economic damages are capped at $500,000

Limits on attorney fees

After the fee has been paid, the plaintiff must still have enough to cover all past and future medical bills. Otherwise 40% of the first $150,000, 33.3% of the next $150,000, 30% of the next $200,000, and 25% of any amount exceeding $500,000.

Collateral Source rule enforced

In a jury case the deduction of collateral benefits is performed by the judge after the verdict. Most collateral sources are covered, except benefits provided under federal laws providing for a right of subrogation against the recovery

State and local health care providers immune from liabaility

Massachusetts has waived its sovereign immunity as well as the immunity of its municipalities and counties. Public employees, however, are immune from liability, as the exclusive remedy for personal injury or wrongful death is against the state

Select Your State

Select Your State

Select Your State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington State West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Medical malpractice law varies from state to state, the key areas of difference are as follows

• Statute of limitations
• The law of comparative or contributory negligence
• The nature of the accused's liability
• Law of contribution
• Standards for expert testimony
• Limitations on compensation
• Limitiations on attorney fees
• Whether collateral source law is in effect
• Are state health care providers immune from liability