Massachusetts Prop. Ins. Underwriting Ass’n v. Gallagher (Mass. Ct. App. Aug. 24, 2009)
An insurer filed suit against a mother whose son committed suicide by ingesting lethal amounts of propoxyphene. In an underlying action, the mother alleged that the policyholder was negligent in leaving the substance, which the policyholder obtained pursuant to a doctor’s prescription, in a place accessible to her son despite knowledge of his fragile emotional state. The issue was whether the claim was excluded by a policy provision barring coverage for bodily injury arising from use of a controlled substance. An exception to the exclusion stated that coverage was not barred for use of a prescription drug by a person following a physician’s orders. In a matter of first impression, the court held that the son’s use of propoxyphene did not fall within the exception to the exclusion because his use of the prescription drug was not pursuant to a physician’s order.
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Carrie P. Appler and Joanna M. Roberto
https://www.goldbergsegalla.com/attorneys/Appler.html
https://www.goldbergsegalla.com/attorneys/Roberto.html