PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Lawsuits targeting the practices of a Maryland research lab that collected at least 99 brains from deceased Mainers will proceed, a Superior Court judge has decided.
Justice Nancy Mills ruled that the actions of the Stanley Medical Research Institute and several other defendants do not constitute medical malpractice, as the defense had claimed. Medical malpractice lawsuits have a three-year statute of limitations in Maine, and all but one of the brains were taken before 2003.
Last week’s ruling allows 13 cases to move forward. The plaintiffs contend that their loved one’s brains were removed from bodies at the state Medical Examiner’s office without proper permission.
The Stanley institute, of Bethesda, Md., uses brains in its research into mental illnesses and disorders. All of the defendants have denied wrongdoing. Defendants also include the institute’s founder, Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, and Matthew Cyr of Bucksport, who was paid $1,000 to $2,000 for each brain he sent to the research lab.
The defendants argued that Torrey qualifies under Maine’s malpractice law and that Cyr was acting on his behalf. But the plaintiffs’ lawyer rejected the notion that a dispute involving a corpse is a health care matter.
In her nine-page ruling, Mills said the cases do not fall within the requirements of the state malpractice law, known as the Maine Health Security Act, “because no health care practitioner or health care provider was involved.”
The attorney for Torrey and the institute, Thomas Laprade, acknowledged that the matter can’t be appealed until after the cases are concluded, but said he’s confident his side will prevail in the case.
“The more we learn about these cases, the more confident we get,” Laprade said.
Steven Silin, who represents seven of the suing families, said the defendants were trying to use the Maine Health Security Act as a shield, and Mills’ ruling “take(s) that shield away from them.”
The matter is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland and a special prosecutor appointed by Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe.
—
Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.