Landmark Legal Victory for Victims’ Families Against Catholic Medical Center

In a significant legal development, Judge David Anderson  from the Hillsborough County Superior Court in Manchester, New Hampshire, recently denied Catholic Medical Center’s (CMC) motions to dismiss two wrongful death lawsuits brought forward by the families of John William Queen and Myron Louis Bishop, Jr. The lawsuits, filed by the law firm Abramson, Brown & Dugan, assert claims of medical negligence and negligent credentialing, retention, and supervision against CMC.

Background and Context

These lawsuits were filed following a groundbreaking investigative series by The Boston Globe Spotlight, which revealed critical details about CMC’s internal operations and the conduct of Dr. Yvon Baribeau, a cardiac surgeon linked to numerous malpractice claims. The series shed light on Dr. Baribeau’s history of deadly errors and the hospital’s alleged failure to address these concerns adequately.

Impact and Implications

Holly B. Haines, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, highlighted the broader significance of the court’s decision. She noted that the order received last week denied Catholic Medical Center’s motions to dismiss the two wrongful death cases filed after the publication of the Boston Globe Spotlight series. These cases, involving patient deaths in 2012 and 2013, were filed in 2024 because the families only discovered the facts about CMC’s negligence and Dr. Baribeau’s misconduct through the Spotlight series.

Haines emphasized that the order addresses several critical issues in New Hampshire for the first time:

1. It holds that the limitations period in RSA 556:11 for bringing wrongful death claims by or against estates is subject to the discovery rule contained in RSA 508:4, opening the door to bring many more wrongful death claims when families are unable to discover the cause of their loved ones’ deaths.
2. It holds that the six-year period contained in RSA 556:11 is not an outer limit or statute of repose for bringing wrongful death claims.
3. It adopts the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s rationale from the Troy v. Bishop Guertin case for applying the discovery rule to institutional knowledge in institutional negligence claims, holding just because a plaintiff knows he or she is injured, knows the person who directly caused the injury, and knows that person’s employer, does not mean that plaintiff knows or should know the institution/employer’s knowledge or causal connection to his or her injury.
4. It recognizes and adopts negligent credentialing as an independent cause of action in New Hampshire and has a lengthy, detailed analysis of the public policy reasons why it is so necessary in medical negligence claims.

Haines concluded by stating that the court’s detailed and well-reasoned analysis will serve as a valuable resource for future cases, extending far beyond the medical negligence sphere.

Conclusion

This legal victory marks a significant step forward for the families of John William Queen and Myron Louis Bishop, Jr., and hopefully will set precedent for future wrongful death claims in New Hampshire.   The order may still be subject to appeal if a verdict is rendered in the families’ favor.  As the legal proceedings continue, the implications of this ruling will undoubtedly resonate within the legal and medical communities, reinforcing the necessity of transparency and accountability in healthcare and heightening ongoing credentialing standards for healthcare providers.