DEDHAM, Mass. (Court TV) — A Massachusetts judge is weighing whether to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Lindsay Clancy’s ex-husband accusing her medical providers of being responsible for their children’s deaths.
Lindsay Clancy sits in court as Judge William Sullivan declares a mistrial on Sept. 4, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger/POOL)
Lindsay Clancy, 36, is charged with three counts of murder in the deaths of Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months old. At her trial over the summer, the defendant conceded that she had strangled the children with exercise bands in the family’s basement; her attorney argued that she was not legally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. The jury deadlocked 11-1 in favor of finding her not guilty by reason of insanity, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial.
In January, before her criminal trial began, Lindsay Clancy’s ex-husband and father of the children, Patrick Clancy, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against two of his ex-wife’s mental health providers and the medical practices where they work.
The lawsuit accuses Dr. Jennifer Tufts and nurse practitioner Rebecca Jollotta, as well as the South Shore Health System and Aster Mental Health Inc., of failing to properly treat Lindsay Clancy and causing the children’s deaths.
Patrick Clancy was not present in court on Wednesday as attorneys from all sides argued a motion to dismiss. The defendants, represented by two attorneys, argued that because the medical providers in question are specifically mental health providers, they are shielded by a Massachusetts law that grants them immunity from being liable for their patients’ actions.
The attorney representing Jollotta and the South Shore Health System also argued that his clients provided appropriate treatment and that Lindsay Clancy never explicitly threatened her children before their deaths. The attorney argued that Patrick Clancy’s attorney added claims that his ex-wife had warned doctors about her intrusive thoughts only after he filed a motion to dismiss. “No allegation about communicating any intention or thoughts about harming or injuring or killing the children was ever raised in this case until after we served the plaintiff with a motion to dismiss,” the attorney said.
“There was no foreseeability. Everyone was shocked at this outcome,” the attorney representing Tufts and Aster Mental Health Inc. said in court.
At her criminal trial, Jollotta and Tufts both testified that Lindsay Clancy never told them she had any intention of hurting her children. Both Lindsay Clancy’s mother and Patrick Clancy testified that she made concerning comments about the thoughts she had been having.
Patrick Clancy testifies in court. (David Ryan/The Boston Globe/Pool)
Howard Cooper, representing Patrick Clancy, said the attorneys missed the point of the lawsuit. “What is alleged in this complaint is not a duty to warn. What is alleged is negligence. There are at least eight different allegations as to why the defendants’ conduct fell below the standard of care and was grossly negligent and ultimately became a substantial cause … of her murdering her three children,” Cooper said. “She told these defendants explicitly that she had a homicidal ideation that she was worried about something awful happening to her kids. I can’t imagine a more explicit threat. Defendants seem to think that you need to have a date, time, place and manner in which the threat’s going to be delivered.”
Judge Michael Doolin said he would take the matter under advisement.
Lindsay Clancy is separately pursuing her own lawsuit for malpractice against the same defendants, as well as other doctors who saw her before her children’s deaths.
Lindsay Clancy is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 2 for a hearing to determine next steps in her criminal case.
