Four-year-old malpractice case leads to Massachusetts Supreme Court decision favoring award damages

July 24, 2008 – When a jury awarded $1 million in 2004 to the family of a man whose stomach cancer was overlooked by a Norwood, Massachusetts, doctor, little did jurors know that the case would lead to a state supreme court ruling four years later that would permit survival victims of medical malpractice to more easily receive awards for damages.

In a decision being hailed by medical malpractice lawyers across the state, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld a lower court ruling yesterday that asserted doctors can be held liable for malpractice and negligence that reduces a patient’s chances for survival – thus helping injured patients who, prior to the ruling, had little chance of receiving monetary compensation from physicians.

The Boston Globe reported that the 2004 case influencing yesterday’s supreme court decision involved a 46-year-old Sharon, Massachusetts, man who died of gastric cancer in 1999.

A Norfolk Superior Court jury recognized the man had for years complained to his doctor about severe stomach pains. The doctor diagnosed him with gastrointestinal reflux disease and recommended over-the-counter medications, but did not order any diagnostic tests until May, 1999.

After the testing, the man was diagnosed with gastric cancer and died five months later.

In his appeal, the doctor maintained there was no evidence that his actions contributed to the man's death. But the state’s high court yesterday upheld the lower court's verdict.

When a patient puts their trust in a doctor like this and that trust is betrayed, a malpractice attorney can be the family’s best protector.

Injured medical patients and their family members who suspect medical malpractice are urged to contact the law firm of Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. – the largest personal injury law firm in New York.

To receive a free consultation on the legal merits of your medical malpractice complaint, please fill out the form on this page and send it to the Weitz & Luxenberg team of medical malpractice lawyers.

Know your rights. Don’t get stuck with medical bills or be deprived of lost income when the fault lies with a doctor, hospital or medical center.

Click To Talk To Us Online

see also:

Malpractice News: Neuroblastoma Cancer Gene Malpractice News: Scientists discover childhood neuroblastoma gene
Malpractice News: Neuroblastoma gene discovered in new British study

Malpractice & Brain Injury Rhode Island Man Won Brain Injury Malpractice Case for $2 Mil--Lawyers
Medical malpractice: Low oxygen levels caused patient's brain injury

Breaking News Doctor/Nurse Medical Malpractice Injury Lawsuit Info: Breaking News
Medical Malpractice Injury Information: FREE Research: Breaking News