Appeal Expected in Loss of Consortium Claim

In 2001, Margaret Mueller was diagnosed with cancer. According to the Stamford Times, a pathologist reviewed samples of tissue and diagnosed Mueller with cancer of the appendix.

However, doctors Iris Wertheim and Isodore Tepler of Stamford Hospital diagnosed and treated her for ovarian cancer. Though diagnosed as cancer free in 2003 by Dr. Tepler, Mueller's cancer spread to other parts of her body. She underwent extensive surgeries and procedures, finally succumbing to her cancer in January of 2009. Experts who testified in the case stated that she would have lived another 10 years if she had been diagnosed correctly.

Prior to Mueller's death, a lawsuit was filed against the doctors involved and Stamford Hospital for malpractice and loss of consortium. The claim for loss of consortium was made by her same-sex partner, Charlotte Stacey.

Loss of consortium has been defined by Connecticut courts as the loss of services, financial support, and the variety of intangible relations that exist between spouses living together in marriage. But as the couple was not married until November 2005, this claim was thrown out by the court.

In October 2005 and after the surgery, Connecticut passed its civil union law which allows same-sex partners to sue for loss of consortium. Previously, only married couples could make this claim. In 2008, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples are allowed to marry.

After a three week trial and four days of deliberation, a jury awarded Mueller's estate $2.45 million in damages. Attorneys for both sides have vowed to appeal. Dr. Wertheim's attorney is planning to appeal the verdict, while the attorney for Mueller's estate will appeal the decision throwing out Stacey's claim for loss of consortium. The issue in Mueller's appeal will be whether the 2008 decision of Connecticut Supreme Court has any retroactive effect in same-sex cases.