Justina Pelletier's Parents Sue Hospital, Claim Gross Negligence

The parents of Justina Pelletier, the West Hartford teen at the center of a medically related back-and-forth custody battle, are suing the Boston Children’s Hospital.

The lawsuit, which was announced at a news conference Thursday in Massachusetts, accuses the Boston Children’s Hospital of gross negligence and civil rights violations, according to the Boston Globe.

The Globe reports that the lawsuit, filed by Lou and Linda Pelletier, seeks unspecified monetary damages and the parents said their overall goal is to ensure that other parents are not afraid to bring their children to hospitals for care.

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Justina Pelletier, who attended the news conference and is now 17, was 15 at the time of her state-forced hospitalization and ended up spending 16 months in Massachusetts.

She returned home to West Hartford in June 2014 following a ruling by Massachusetts Judge Joseph Johnson that ordered the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families to release the teen to her parents.

Justina Pelletier had been the focus of a national debate on parental rights since the Massachusetts DCF took custody of her, despite pleas from her family, thousands of supporters, and a social media campaign.

The DCF took custody of her in February 2013 after her family disagreed with a diagnosis and treatment by doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital.

The Boston Children’s Hospital said on Thursday that it “welcomes the opportunity to vigorously defend the medical care it provided to Justina Pelletier,” according to the Globe.

Read more at the Boston Globe here.

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