Judge's decision lets brain-harvesting lawsuits proceed
psi
PORTLAND, Maine --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
© Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.