Malapanis v. Shirazi

About nine years after he was discharged from treatment by the defendant, Shirazi, an orthopedic surgeon, the plaintiff brought an action for medical malpractice, claiming that Shirazi had negligently treated his broken leg. The defendant filed an answer that raised the defense of the statute of limitations. A judge of the Superior Court allowed the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, Mass.R.Civ.P. 56 (b), 365 Mass. 824 (1974), ruling that the plaintiff’s action was barred by the three-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice actions contained in G. L. c. 260, § 4. Judgment…