DECADES OF EXCELLENCE

Lubin & Meyer has earned its reputation as the hardest-working, most successful medical malpractice and catastrophic personal injury law firm in New England. And the proof is in their results. And the proof is in their results.

By Justin Smulison

WHEN LUBIN & MEYER cofounder Andrew C. Meyer Jr. was featured last year in a Boston magazine exposé, “The Secret Truth About Boston Doctors,” he wasn’t shy about speaking out against a medical system in Massachusetts that often, the magazine charged, protects dangerous physicians at the expense of unwitting patients.

In a follow-up to the article, Meyer appeared as a guest on the New England Cable News network, where he highlighted the failures of the Massachusetts Board of Medicine to adequately discipline doctors who have a record of harming multiple patients. Meyer pointed specifically to a current member of the board, who was appointed while a malpractice suit against him was pending. The board, Meyer told the magazine, needs “to represent the safety of patients rather than to protect doctors.”

Our firm’s work calls attention to systemic problems, holds individuals accountable, and forces substandard practices to be changed.

Meyer’s contributions toward making the practice of medicine safer have inspired sweeping changes in the way health care is delivered. As New England’s most recognizable medical malpractice attorney, he has built a firm around his mission of representing the voiceless—people seriously injured by the shortcomings and mistakes of a complex, often secretive medical system. “Our work shines a light on dangerous practices, a medical system unable to regulate itself and mistakes that by definition are avoidable,” he says. “For a medical professional to choose not to run a test, spend the necessary time, or respond to symptoms is inexcusable. Our firm’s work calls attention to systemic problems, holds individuals accountable, and forces substandard practices to be changed.”

“Recovering compensation for our clients’ ongoing care, hospital bills and associated costs is important,” he adds, “but time and time again our clients come to us seeking accountability— the need to hold a negligent doctor accountable or expose a flawed medical system so that these kinds of mistakes don’t happen to another family.”

Growing to Meet the Challenge

Medical errors rank as the third leading cause of death in the United States. As such, Lubin & Meyer has grown accordingly, in both the number and amount of record-setting verdicts and settlements it obtains on behalf of its clients.

Trial attorneys under Meyer’s leadership have become seasoned courtroom stars in their own right: Robert M. Higgins, Krysia J. Syska, William J. Thompson, Adam R. Satin, and Nicholas D. Cappiello join Meyer in receiving the highest ratings for ethical standards and professional excellence from Super Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell, and many other distinguished attorney-rating organizations and directories.

Lubin & Meyer further boosted its bench strength last year, welcoming attorney Patrick M. Haggan, a veteran prosecutor at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office who oversaw 160 lawyers and more than 30,000 criminal cases each year, including complex trials such as the 2017 double-murder case against former New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez. Haggan, Meyer says, is “one of the most respected trial attorneys in the area,” whose presence at the firm is already producing results: Haggan obtained a $2.5 million verdict just a few months after joining the firm.

Leaders in Medical Malpractice and Catastrophic Personal Injury Law

In 2019, Lubin & Meyer again led all law firms in Massachusetts with 64 verdicts and settlements of $1 million or more, including one nearly $12 million settlement achieved by the firm before the claim was even filed in the court, according to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly—the firm’s best year yet.

“We secured our greatest number of settlements, but we also won legally significant and hard-fought-for jury verdicts,” says Meyer, who has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America © annually since 1995 in Medical Malpractice & Personal Injury Litigation. The four verdicts won in 2019 totaled nearly $30 million, the largest gross amount among malpractice firms in the state last year, according to cases published by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Those results:

• $11.5 million for a radiologist’s mistake that led to a toddler’s heart attack and permanent brain injury.

• $10.7 million for a surgical mistake and postsurgical infection causing further injury and surgery.

• $3.5 million related to nursing negligence that contributed to an infant’s death.

• $1.25 million regarding negligence in laparoscopic gallbladder-removal surgery.

These outcomes demonstrate the firm’s success handling the most challenging, complex cases. The $11.5 million verdict, Meyer says, was a prime example of the firm’s courtroom prowess, making an impact on the lifetime care of a child who was just 18 months old at the time of injury. “The child’s chest X-ray was misinterpreted by the defendant radiologist, and the little girl ultimately suffered from myocarditis—an infection around the heart—as well as severe neurological injuries that will remain with her,” he says. “The compensation we secured on her behalf will ease a lifetime of financial burdens caused by this avoidable error.”

Lubin & Meyer’s unmatched record of success has earned it a reputation as the go-to law firm for seriously injured residents of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. “We have the finest trial team in New England,” Meyer says. “Our results on behalf of our clients speak for themselves.”