Trial Court Finds Harvard Satisfied Suicide Prevention Duty

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Law Firm: Holland & Knight
• Subject Matter: Consumer Protection, Food, Drugs, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Education
• Author: Mr Paul Lannon
• Published date: 25 January 2023

Highlights

• In one of the few cases to apply the student suicide prevention duty first recognizedby the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Nguyen v. MIT, a state trial court recently found that Harvard University fulfilled its legal obligations after learning that a first-year student had attempted suicide.
• Granting summary judgment to the university and two of its administrators, the court held that these defendants satisfied their suicide prevention duties under state law by implementing emergency protocols and arranging for clinical care by qualified medical professionals, and by doing so, these defendants did not voluntarily assume any legal duty to provide ongoing care, even when they required the student to enter into a "care contract" as a condition of continued enrollment.
• The ruling is significant because it provides much-needed guidance as to the limited nature of the suicide prevention duty both in scope and duration.

In one of the few cases to apply the student suicide prevention duty first recognizedby the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Nguyen v. MIT, 479 Mass. 436 (2018), a state trial court recently found that Harvard University and two administrators fulfilled their legal obligations after learning that a first-year student had attempted suicide. In granting summary judgment, the court held that these defendants satisfied their suicide prevention duties under state law by implementing emergency protocols and arranging for clinical care by qualified medical professionals. By doing so, these defendants did not voluntarily assume any legal duty to provide ongoing care, even when they required the student to enter into a "care contract" as a condition of continued enrollment.

The ruling is significant because it provides much-needed guidance as to the limited nature of the suicide prevention duty, both in scope and duration. The case is Tang v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, et al., Middlesex Superior Court, C.A. No. 1881CV02603 (Dec. 20, 2022) (Tingle, J.).

Student Suicide Prevention Duty

Massachusetts law holds that, under certain circumstances, institutions of higher education and their administrators have a legal duty to take "reasonable measures" to prevent student suicide. That duty is triggered only when the institution has actual knowledge that a student has attempted suicide while enrolled or shortly before matriculating, or that a student has stated plans or intentions to commit suicide. Knowledge of these...