On August 14, 2018, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of a defendant hospital, finding the hospital owed no duty of care to unidentified third parties who were harmed by a patient twenty-two days after the patient was released from the hospital. The decision affirmed the trial court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of the defendant hospital.  The Supreme Judicial Court held that the hospital’s duty of care was limited to the period of custody, and that once the patient was discharged pursuant to a clinical decision, the hospital no longer had a duty to hold, or otherwise control, the patient.

The case was argued on April 5, 2018, by Ted Mahoney, a partner at MMM&K, after the Supreme Judicial Court accepted an Application for Direct Appellate Review. Sarah Greenhalgh, a partner at MMM&K wrote the Motion for Summary Judgment, and Lindsay Weber, an associate at MMM&K wrote the Appellate Brief.