Lindsay Clancy might attempt to use the truth that jurors almost discovered her not responsible of homicide for strangling her youngsters to leverage a settlement — probably tens of millions of {dollars} — in her lawsuits towards the docs she claimed failed her, specialists informed The Put up.
The gripping triple homicide case towards the 36-year-old Duxbury, Massachusetts mother ended with a deadlocked jury Friday however a number of jurors have since revealed that 11 out of the 12 panelists have been ready to search out her not responsible by purpose of madness and didn’t purchase the prosecutions’ case.
Clancy might use to bolster negotiations within the civil case, authorized observers say.
“It’s like a leverage play while you’re negotiating or mediating,” mentioned Seth Zuckerman, a New York lawyer who handles each legal and civil circumstances.
“[It’s] a case to say, look jurors have already heard this proof and thought that the hospital was flawed and misdiagnosed her. And 11 out of 12 have been ready to search out her not responsible due to this defect, which implies principally that they didn’t assume that the medical suppliers did the correct factor by her.”
One other professional instructed the settlement might attain seven figures.
At trial, Clancy’s legal legal professional, Kevin Reddington, requested jurors to search out her not criminally accountable primarily based on the declare she was affected by extreme postpartum psychosis made worse by a number of psychiatric drugs her docs gave her.
Clancy is suing hospitals, docs and different suppliers who handled her within the 4 months earlier than the murders when she mentally spiraled as she desperately battled insomnia, nervousness, melancholy and intrusive ideas about suicide and harming her youngsters.
Her lawsuit claims her suppliers did not correctly diagnose her and put her on a revolving door of highly effective drugs, finally resulting in her killing Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, on Jan. 24, 2023 earlier than she tried to take her personal life.
Clancy’s then-husband Patrick Clancy additionally has a lawsuit pending towards her suppliers.
“It’s persuasive for those who’re speaking to the protection legal professional or insurance coverage service as to why they need to settle this as a result of you have already got some anecdotal information from the from a juror as to what they considered this,” Zuckerman mentioned.
Three jurors revealed in an interview with NBC 10 Boston they felt the prosecution’s case was “harsh” and that they did not placed on any witnesses who mentioned Clancy was a foul mother, main the jurors to imagine she “snapped.”
One other jury member informed CBS Information Boston the prosecution “didn’t have a figurative smoking gun” and the case had “an excessive amount of grey space.”
Right here’s the newest on Lindsay Clancy’s homicide trial:
Medical malpractice lawyer, Doug Burnetti, informed The Put up Clancy’s civil group in all probability “feels emboldened to some extent.”
Clancy might probably settle with the medical suppliers for tens of millions, Burnetti mentioned.
Another methods the legal trial might influence the civil case embody that Clancy can’t be compelled to sit down for a deposition by the attorneys representing the hospitals and docs she is suing till her legal case has totally concluded.
Till that time, Clancy might plead the Fifth Modification within the civil case with a view to guarantee she doesn’t incriminate herself additional within the legal case.
“She nonetheless has a Fifth Modification proper to not say something,” legal professional John W. Day informed The Put up. “And so what occurs typically is judges say, ‘All proper, the lawsuit can proceed, however if you wish to take her sworn deposition, that has to attend till there’s no likelihood of any legal prosecution.’ That may very well be a very long time.”
Additionally, testimony from the legal trial may very well be used towards witnesses which will additionally testify within the civil case.
Clancy is suing psychiatrist, Dr. Jennifer Tufts, who met with Clancy over a dozen occasions within the months earlier than the tragedy, claiming she did not diagnose her with bipolar dysfunction and the physician even gave her an SSRI drug, which may worsen signs for somebody with the dysfunction.
Tufts testified for 2 days on the legal trial which included hours of blistering cross-examination by Reddington.
Tufts would presumably be deposed and testify in any civil case, because the lead defendant and her testimony from the legal case may very well be used towards her — prefer to catch out inconsistencies.
Burnetti mentioned Reddington might have been cognizant about the truth that Tufts would probably even be known as within the civil case and that would have been another excuse for him to depart no stone unturned throughout her cross-examination.
Burnetti additionally mentioned the big media and public frenzy surrounding the trial might make it tough to get an unbiased jury within the civil case.
“There’s going to be an influence as a result of for those who’ve heard of it, you’ve shaped some opinion someway,” he mentioned. “Even for those who get up in entrance of the choose and say, ‘Properly, I’ve heard about it, however I’ve no opinion.’ That’s arduous to imagine totally as a result of all people has their built-in biases.”
Burnetti mentioned usually the kind of medical malpractice case Clancy has introduced is tough to show as a result of the docs solely have to show they supplied Clancy with the “commonplace of care, which isn’t perfection.”
“If the defendants can show by a preponderance of proof that they met the usual of care, regardless that the end result was horrible, the jury might discover a solution to rule of their favor,” Burnetti defined.
