Massachusetts medical malpractice deadlines: how long you have to act.

In Massachusetts, a medical malpractice lawsuit against a physician, surgeon, dentist, optometrist, hospital, or sanitorium generally must be filed within 3 years after the cause of action accrues. It can’t be filed more than 7 years after the act or omission that caused the injury, unless the claim is based on a foreign object left in the body (G.L. c. 260, § 4).

The main special rules:

• Children: a child injured before age 6 has until the 9th birthday, but the 7-year outer limit still applies.
• Foreign objects: the 7-year outer limit doesn’t apply when the claim is based on an object left in the body.
• Notice: written notice usually must be given to the provider 182 days before a lawsuit is filed.
• Other rules: wrongful death claims, public employers, and federal facilities have their own deadlines.

These are general rules, not legal advice. Deadlines depend on the exact facts, so talk with an attorney licensed in Massachusetts about your dates.

The Massachusetts statute says a medical malpractice action must be commenced “within three years after the cause of action accrues” (G.L. c. 260, § 4).

The statute itself doesn’t define when a claim accrues, and that date isn’t always obvious. Many medical problems don’t show up right away. A missed diagnosis may only come to light when another doctor finds it, and a surgical problem may take months to appear. When exactly the clock started is often disputed.

Don’t assume the clock started late. Write down when the care happened and when you first learned something may have gone wrong, and give both dates to an attorney licensed in Massachusetts.

Even if a problem isn’t discovered for years, Massachusetts sets an outer limit: “in no event” can a medical malpractice action be commenced more than 7 years after the act or omission that is the alleged cause of the injury (G.L. c. 260, § 4). This is often called a statute of repose. It runs from the act or omission, not from when the problem was discovered.

The one exception written into the statute is a claim based on a foreign object left in the body. So a problem discovered 6½ years after the care may leave only months to act, and one discovered after 7 years may already be too late unless that exception applies.

Massachusetts has a separate rule for claims by a minor against a health care provider. It applies instead of the general rule that pauses deadlines for minors (G.L. c. 231, § 60D; G.L. c. 260, § 7).

• The usual limit: a minor’s claim generally must be filed within 3 years from when the cause of action accrues.
• Children under 6: a child under the age of 6 has until the 9th birthday to file.
• The outer limit still applies: no claim can be filed more than 7 years after the act or omission, except one based on a foreign object left in the body.

That last point matters for very young children. For a baby injured at birth, the 7-year limit ends before the 9th birthday. Once a family has reason to believe care may have caused harm, it’s important to talk with an attorney soon rather than wait for a birthday. See birth injuries for more on concerns about a baby’s care.

Foreign objects. When a claim is based on a foreign object left in the body, such as a sponge or an instrument after surgery, the 7-year outer limit doesn’t apply (G.L. c. 260, § 4). The 3-year limit from when the claim accrues can still apply.

Fraudulent concealment. If the person responsible fraudulently concealed the cause of action from the person entitled to bring it, the time before it was discovered is left out when the deadline is counted (G.L. c. 260, § 12). Showing concealment takes evidence, such as altered records or false statements about what happened. If you believe something was hidden from you, tell an attorney and keep copies of everything you were given.

Mental illness. A separate rule covers a person who is incapacitated by reason of mental illness when the right to sue first accrues: the action may be brought within the usual time after the incapacity is removed (G.L. c. 260, § 7). How that rule fits with the medical malpractice limits is a question for an attorney.

The 3-year and 7-year limits in the statute name physicians, surgeons, dentists, optometrists, hospitals, and sanitoria (G.L. c. 260, § 4).

The tribunal and notice rules described below use a broader definition of a provider of health care. It includes, among others, clinics, nursing homes, registered or licensed nurses, podiatrists, chiropractors, physical therapists, psychologists, social workers, and acupuncturists, and their officers, employees, and agents acting in the course of their work (G.L. c. 231, § 60B).

So which deadline applies can depend on who provided the care. A claim about a nursing home or another provider not named in the 3-year and 7-year rule may be governed by a different time limit. An attorney licensed in Massachusetts can tell you which rules apply.

A wrongful death action in Massachusetts generally must be commenced within 3 years from the date of death, or within 3 years from when the executor or administrator knew, or with reasonable diligence should have known, of the factual basis for a claim (G.L. c. 229, § 2).

The same section also allows the time provided by certain sections of chapter 260, including section 4, the medical malpractice limits. When a death may have been caused by medical care, an attorney should check how those limits, including the 7-year outer limit, apply to the dates.

The claim is brought by the executor or administrator of the person who died (§ 2). If no one has been appointed yet, families should talk with an attorney early about who can act.

Massachusetts generally doesn’t allow a medical malpractice lawsuit to be filed right away. First, the person bringing the claim must give the provider written notice 182 days before the lawsuit is filed (G.L. c. 231, § 60L(a)). The main rules:

• What the notice says. It must include the facts of the claim, the standard of care alleged, how it was breached, what should have been done, how the breach caused the injury, and the names of all providers the claimant intends to notify (§ 60L(e)).
• Medical records. Within 56 days after giving notice, the claimant must give the provider access to the related medical records in the claimant’s control, and a release for related records held by others (§ 60L(f)).
• The provider’s response. The provider must send a written response within 150 days. If no response arrives in that time, the claimant may file suit when the 150 days end, and the two sides can agree to extend that period (§ 60L(g), (h)).
• A shorter period. The notice period drops to 90 days if the claimant already gave the 182-day notice to another provider involved in the claim, or already filed suit against one (§ 60L(c)).

There are exceptions. The notice isn’t required for a provider the claimant couldn’t reasonably have identified before filing (§ 60L(d)). If the provider says in writing that it doesn’t intend to settle within the notice period, the claimant may file, as long as the claim isn’t already time-barred (§ 60L(i)). And a lawsuit filed within 6 months of the statute of limitations running out, or within 1 year of the 7-year outer limit running out, is exempt from the notice rule (§ 60L(j)).

Because the notice takes time to prepare and the waiting period is long, attorneys usually need to start well before the deadline.

After a lawsuit is filed, every Massachusetts malpractice action against a provider of health care is heard by a tribunal of three people: a single justice of the superior court, a physician (or a representative of the provider’s field), and an attorney (G.L. c. 231, § 60B).

• Timing. The tribunal hears the case within 15 days after the defendant files its answer.
• What it decides. The patient’s side presents an offer of proof, and the tribunal decides whether the evidence raises a legitimate question of liability for the court, or whether it is merely an unfortunate medical result.
• If the tribunal finds for the provider. The case can continue only if the patient’s side posts a bond with the court. If the bond isn’t posted within 30 days of the finding, the action is dismissed. The court may reduce the bond for a person found to be indigent, but can’t eliminate it.

An attorney, usually working with a medical expert, prepares the offer of proof. This is one more reason to start early.

• Write down the dates: when the care happened, and when you first learned or suspected something went wrong.
• Request your medical records and keep bills, discharge papers, and anything you were given.
• Note who provided the care, including whether it was a public hospital, a VA or military facility, or a nursing home, since different rules may apply.
• Talk with an attorney soon. Only an attorney can tell you which deadline applies and how much time is left.

Talk with an attorney licensed in Massachusetts about your own dates. To learn more about us, read how our service works and where we operate.

This guide summarizes the Massachusetts General Laws and federal law, as read on October 11, 2026. It is general information, not legal advice.

• G.L. c. 260, § 4: medical malpractice limitations, 7-year limit, foreign objects
• G.L. c. 231, § 60D: claims by minors against health care providers
• G.L. c. 260, § 7: minors and persons incapacitated by mental illness
• G.L. c. 260, § 12: fraudulent concealment
• G.L. c. 229, § 2: wrongful death
• G.L. c. 231, § 60L: 182-day notice before suit
• G.L. c. 231, § 60B: medical malpractice tribunal; provider of health care defined
• G.L. c. 258, § 4: claims against public employers
• 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b): federal tort claims