LeBlanc v. Commonwealth

Summary

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed dismissal of negligence claims arising from an erroneous autopsy report that caused the plaintiffs to exhume and test their deceased son's remains. The court held that G. L. c. 38, § 2, barred liability arising from the lawful disclosure of an autopsy report, including claims concerning the report's content or correction, and extended that protection to the medical examiner involved.

Holdings

1. The statutory exemption shielding the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and its employees from civil liability for lawfully disclosing an autopsy report broadly covers claims arising from the content of the lawfully disclosed report, including negligence claims concerning errors in the report or failure to correct and disclose those errors.
2. Medical examiner Abraham Philip was among the persons protected by G. L. c. 38, § 2, even though the complaint alleged that he was an independent contractor, because it also alleged that he acted as a medical examiner, examined the remains, and signed the autopsy report in that capacity.
3. The Commonwealth could not be held liable for the plaintiffs' claims because those claims were based on conduct for which the chief medical examiner and OCME employees were statutorily protected from liability.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the statutory protection for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and its employees from civil liability for lawfully disclosing an autopsy report extends to negligence claims arising from the report's content and the failure to notify the decedent's family of a correction.
2. Whether medical examiner Abraham Philip was protected by the statutory exemption from liability even though the complaint alleged that he was an independent contractor rather than an employee.
3. Whether the Commonwealth could be liable under the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act for the alleged conduct of the chief medical examiner or Office of the Chief Medical Examiner employees.

Disposition

affirmed