Bystander Emotional Distress Claims Permitted in Conn. Med-Mal Suits

Medical-malpractice claims are often accompanied by emotional distress claims asserted by the patient’s family members. In Maloney v. Conroy, 208 Conn. 392 (1988), the Connecticut Supreme Court held that “bystanders” to medical malpractice may not recover for their own emotional distress. When Maloney was decided, the Supreme Court had not yet recognized bystander emotional distress claims in any context, but later did so in Clohessy v. Bachelor, 237 Conn. 31 (1996). Clohessy permitted claims by a child’s mother and brother for emotional injuries from the shock of witnessing the child’s fatal injuries from a negligently driven automobile. State trial courts have since split over whether Clohessy overrode Maloney‘s holding in a medical-malpractice case. The Supreme Court has now resolved the issue, recognizing a claim of bystander emotional distress from witnessing medical malpractice. See Squeo v. Norwalk Hospital Association, No. SC 19283, 316 Conn. 558 (April 28, 2015).

In Squeo, the plaintiffs’ son, age 29, had a history of mental illness and lived at home. In August 2007, he was hospitalized for an emergency psychiatric examination after expressing suicidal thoughts and was evaluated by an advanced practice registered nurse. The nurse left a telephone message for the plaintiffs the morning after admission, saying that the son was no longer a danger to himself or others and would be discharged. The son walked home and hung himself from a tree with an electrical cord. The parents did not know of the discharge until 35 minutes later, when they found the son in their yard. They cut the cord and performed CPR, but their son soon died from a brain injury. The estate sued the hospital and nurse for malpractice, and the parents added their own claims for bystander emotional distress. The trial court granted the defendants’ summary judgment motion on the bystander claims, and the parents appealed.