Massachusetts Appeals Court Rejects Attorney Malpractice Claim of Inadequate Settlement
By Paul V. Esposito
The parents of a boy who suffered an amputation did not present sufficient evidence to support a legal malpractice action grounded on an insufficient $6 million settlement. Abdulky v. Lubin & Meyer, P.C., 2023 Mass. App. LEXIS 46 (3/28/23). The parents’ legal expert estimated a settlement value of $10 million based on the nature of damages and a comparison of verdicts and settlements in cases involving amputations. The Court ruled that the expert’s evidence would be inadmissible at trial. Even if comparing other settlements and verdicts to the boy’s case was a reliable methodology, the expert did not show that he reliably applied it. He did not explain which verdicts and settlements he used or why they provided a valid comparison.