Esposito v. O'HAIR

OPINION

Justice FLAHERTY,

for the Court.

In this medical malpractice dispute, we must determine whether Medicaid is a “state income disability” act, and thus falls within a list of collateral source payments that are admissible to reduce a plaintiffs damages under G.L.1956 § 9-19-34.1.

I

Background

In March 2001, Marion Thomson filed suit against Atmed Treatment Center, Inc., Hani Zaki, M.D., Inc., and three physicians — James P. O’Hair, Daniel Regan, and Hani Zaki — alleging that the defendants were negligent in failing to diagnose her with Hodgkins Lymphoma. Thomson died from this disease on…