Boston Childrens Hospital Lawsuit

On October 1, 2014, the Massachusetts' highest court, the Supreme Judicial Court was presented with a case whereby individuals sued Dr. Melvin D. Levine for abuse between 1987 and 2006 in North Carolina. The Plaintiffs brought suit against Boston Children's Hospital claiming that since the doctor had worked there prior to the abuse, the hospital should have notified his future employers and patients who the doctor would potentially come into contact with. The Supreme Judicial Court rejected the argument by the plaintiffs

In deciding against the Plaintiffs, the court reasoned, “We have never recognized or imposed a duty on an employer to prevent the future behavior of a former employee, with respect to unknown customers and clients of unknown future employers,” “The geographic and temporal breadth of the duty the plaintiffs seek to impose reaches too far, and would potentially expose the employer to liability to an essentially limitless class of unknown parties for acts committed long after the employer had any ability to supervise, monitor, or discipline the former employee's conduct.”