Laboratory Errors Lawyer in Massachusetts

Laboratory Errors and Medical Malpractice in Massachusetts

Clinical laboratory testing is the foundation of modern diagnosis, and laboratory errors can cascade into serious patient harm. When a laboratory makes an error in processing, analyzing, or reporting results, the consequences can include missed diagnoses of cancer and serious infections, incorrect treatment decisions, delayed identification of life-threatening conditions, and unnecessary procedures based on false positives. Attorney Jeffrey C. Lavey represents patients harmed by laboratory errors throughout Massachusetts.

Types of Laboratory Errors That Cause Harm

• Sample mix-up: one patient’s specimen is processed under another’s name
• Processing errors: improper specimen handling that produces inaccurate results
• Analytical errors: instrument malfunction or calibration failures
• Pathology interpretation errors: a pathologist misreads a biopsy specimen
• Reporting errors: correct results transmitted to the wrong provider or patient
• Critical value failures: failure to immediately report dangerously abnormal results
• Microbiology errors: incorrect identification of bacteria or antibiotic sensitivity

The Chain of Responsibility

Laboratory error cases may involve multiple defendants: the laboratory that performed the test, the pathologist who interpreted results, the ordering physician who failed to follow up on abnormal results, and the hospital or healthcare system that employed the laboratory. Each link in this chain has professional obligations. Attorney Lavey investigates every potentially responsible party in every laboratory error case.

Expert Medical Testimony in Lab Error Cases

Massachusetts medical malpractice law requires expert testimony from a qualified medical professional who can establish the applicable standard of care, how the laboratory or physician deviated from that standard, and how the deviation caused or contributed to the patient’s harm. In laboratory error cases, this typically requires testimony from a pathologist, laboratory medicine specialist, or the relevant specialist for the condition that was missed or misdiagnosed. Attorney Lavey works with qualified experts in every laboratory error case.

Compensation for Laboratory Error Victims

Laboratory error compensation includes the cost of additional treatment required because of the error, lost wages during extended illness or treatment caused by the delayed or incorrect diagnosis, pain and suffering from the harm that the error caused or prolonged, and future medical costs for conditions that progressed because they were not correctly diagnosed. Attorney Lavey pursues every element of compensation in every laboratory error malpractice case.

Frequently Asked Questions