Missouri High Court to Hear Chillicothe Hospital Case

The Missouri Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether wrongful death lawsuits can go forward against a Chillicothe hospital.

The lawsuits allege that a nurse at Hedrick Medical Center intentionally killed several patients in 2002 by giving them overdoses of medications, and that hospital administrators concealed her actions.

The hospital, which is now part of Saint Luke's Hospital System, contends the lawsuits should be rejected. It says the state's three-year statute of limitations on wrongful death cases expired before the lawsuits were filed in 2010 and 2011.

Trial judges originally ruled for the northwest Missouri hospital. But an appeals court panel revived the cases last November. It ruled that because of the alleged concealment of the nurse's actions, the statute of limitations did not begin to run until later.