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Courtroom Success: Mark W. Murphy; Emily G. Coughlin; Holly M. Polglase; and Christopher A. Kenney


July 15, 2009

IADC members Mark W. Murphy of Litchfield Cavo LLP; Emily G. Coughlin of Ryan, Coughlin & Betke, LLP; Holly M. Polglase of Campbell Campbell Edwards & Conroy; and Christopher A. Kenney of Kenney & Sams PC are pleased to report the defense victory in Leavitt v. Brockton Hospital, a decision recently issued by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.  The Supreme Judicial Court's decision in Leavitt imposes a significant limitation on the potential tort liability of medical providers to nonpatient third parties. The Court held that a medical provider does not owe a duty to control a patient in order to prevent the patient from causing harm to a third party. In holding that medical providers do not owe a duty to a third person to control a patient (excluding a patient of a mental health professional), the court reasoned that it would not impose such an affirmative duty in the absence of a special relationship. And the court reasoned that it would not recognize a special relationship between a medical provider and a patient because it falls outside of those limited categories in which the court (and Restatement) have recognized special relationships in the past, and a medicated patient does not have "dangerous propensities" warranting the recognition of a special relationship. 
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