Michael is a member of the Healthcare, Professional Liability, Professional Licensing, and Tort and Commercial Litigation groups at HMDR&S. He has extensive litigation, trial and appellate experience in state and federal courts in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, including class action lawsuits and multi-district federal court litigation, winning numerous jury trial victories, as well as countless dismissals or other favorable resolutions in a wide variety of commercial litigation and complex tort litigation.
He represents physicians, nurses, physical therapists, social workers, mental health professionals, hospitals, outpatient surgery centers and clinics, medical practice groups, and other health care professionals and corporations in defense of medical malpractice claims, often involving claims of catastrophic injury or death. Michael defends professional liability claims for various professionals, including attorneys, agents, brokers, engineers, and architects. In addition, he represents professional licensees in proceedings before their respective professional licensure licensing authorities.
Michael also represents manufacturers, distributors, retailers and other businesses in defense of products liability claims, including those involving pharmaceuticals, medical devices, recreational products, home products and asbestos products.
He represents individuals and businesses in intellectual property, commercial, employment and other complex litigation disputes. He defends general liability and premises liability claims for retailers, landowners, and other defendants.
Associations and Organizations
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
- Defense Research Institute (DRI)
- Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association (MDLA)
Representative Experience
- Numerous jury verdicts in favor of health care professionals in claims of professional malpractice.
- Obtained dismissals of more than one hundred complaints against physicians, physician assistants, dentists, nurses, social workers, and psychologists, before their respective licensing authorities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
- Defense verdict after jury trial on behalf of a national pharmacy chain in claim that consumer’s death was caused by the pharmacy’s negligent failure to warn her of a potential harmful interaction among several prescription medications that were prescribed by different physicians.
- Defense verdict after jury trial on behalf of manufacturer of electric plug strip where plaintiff homeowners claimed that their house was destroyed by fire that started from a short circuit in the strip.
- Obtained dismissal, on federal pre-emption grounds, of a products liability case against a distributor of a generic pharmaceutical, where consumer’s death was allegedly caused by the failure to warn about potentially fatal interactions with another medication. This is believed to be the first time—nationwide—that a court applied the Supreme Court’s 2011 Mensing decision to bar failure to warn claims arising out of the distribution of generic drugs.
- Obtained jury verdict, and subsequent 93A judgment, on behalf of a start-up company for its fraud and breach of contract claims against a software developer arising out of a $260,000 contract to develop web-enabled imaging software, resulting in $1.4 million settlement payment to the start-up company.
- Favorable arbitration award on behalf of attorney in claim that he had committed malpractice in authoring an opinion letter for a multi-million-dollar commercial development loan.
- Obtained directed verdict on behalf of a law firm in an attorney professional liability trial.
- Obtained judgments in favor of various clients in approximately one hundred lawsuits where plaintiffs asserted claims for personal injuries or wrongful death because of exposure to asbestos.
Accomplishments, Honors & Awards
- Michael is rated “AV Preeminent,” which is the highest rating awarded by Martindale-Hubbell.
- Michael is an Associate Member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Founded in 1957, ABOTA is an invitation-only national association of experienced trial lawyers and judges dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the civil jury trial right.
- Michael was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 32ⁿᵈ edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for his expertise in Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants.
Recent Court Victories
- Obtained a “no negligence” jury verdict on behalf of an orthopedic surgeon after a two-week trial in Lawrence Superior Court. The plaintiff claimed that the orthopedic surgeon negligently failed to diagnose timely and treat a post-operative polymicrobial infection following an elective total knee replacement surgery. After the infection was diagnosed, the implanted prosthesis was removed and the plaintiff underwent twenty-three additional surgical procedures including debridements, skin grafts and placements of antibiotic spacers in place of the knee joint. The plaintiff spent over 100 days in various hospitals before undergoing an above-the-knee amputation of his leg.
- Obtained a directed verdict at trial in Suffolk Superior Court in favor of a law firm in defense of a M.G.L. c. 93A claim filed by its former client. The former client claimed that the law firm engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices and violated professional ethical rules when (without first obtaining the consent of the former client) the law firm assigned its right under the client’s contingent fee agreement to collect the litigation costs it had expended on behalf of the client during its prior representation.
- Obtained a “no negligence” jury verdict on behalf of a general surgeon in Berkshire Superior Court against a claim that the surgeon negligently performed laparoscopic gallbladder removal surgery. The surgeon inadvertently transected the patient’s left hepatic duct, right hepatic duct, and common bile duct instead of transecting only the cystic duct and cystic artery. The plaintiff required extensive biliary repair surgery, two hospitalizations, endured a prolonged and painful recovery, and was left with extensive and permanent abdominal scarring.
- Obtained a “no negligence” jury verdict on behalf of a critical care physician after a five-week wrongful death medical malpractice trial in Brockton Superior Court. The plaintiff alleged that the critical care physician negligently failed to timely diagnose and treat an evolving cerebellar stroke in a thirty-eight-year-old patient and that the lumbar puncture (“spinal tap”) procedure he performed caused the patient’s subsequent brain herniation into his spinal canal. Nineteen witnesses, including eight experts, testified.
- Obtained a “no negligence” jury verdict on behalf of an orthopedic surgeon after a four-week trial in Salem Superior Court. The plaintiff claimed that the orthopedic surgeon negligently failed to adequately monitor the patient during her week-long recovery in the hospital for what the plaintiff claimed were signs and symptoms of a growing spinal epidural hematoma, caused by the anesthesiologist’s multiple failed attempts to perform spinal anesthesia before her hip replacement surgery. The plaintiff was left permanently paralyzed below the waist.
- Secured Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmance of a “no negligence” jury verdict and judgment he had won in favor of a critical care physician after a two-week trial in Brockton Superior Court where the plaintiff claimed that the 53-year old patient’s respiratory distress, anoxic brain damage, and subsequent death were caused by the critical care physician’s alleged failure to create an adequate post-operative monitoring care plan. The Appeals Court held that the trial court judge correctly admitted into evidence, under the prior recorded testimony exception to the hearsay rule, the prior deposition testimony of a witness who refused to testify at trial based on a claim of privilege against self-incrimination.
Publications and Lectures
Michael has lectured at continuing medical education presentations to healthcare providers.
Michael provided the legal review for “Risk Management in Social Work: Preventing Professional Malpractice, Liability, and Disciplinary Action” (Columbia University Press 2015), by well-known social work ethicist, author and scholar, Frederick G. Reamer, Ph.D.
Community Involvement
Michael is a long-time Board Member and is the Secretary of Julie’s Family Learning Program, a charitable non-profit organization that provides care and educational services to disadvantaged, low-income young mothers and their children from diverse ethnic and racial communities around Greater Boston.
Michael is a long-time Member and is the current Chair of the Wellesley Historical Commission. Appointed by the Town of Wellesley Select Board, the Commission is the Town’s primary advocate for the protection of the town’s historical assets.
Michael is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Wellesley Historical Society. The Society is a non-profit organization that seeks to collect, preserve and share Wellesley’s history and inspire involvement in and appreciation of the Town’s heritage and culture. The Society recently opened the Wellesley History and Exhibit Center, which is a community space offering exhibitions, programs, and events celebrating the town’s history.