Opinion ID: 2961063
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Messier litigation

Text: Joshua Messier was an acutely ill patient who was involuntarily committed at the Bridgewater State Hospital. On May 4, 2009, Messier was killed while being restrained by multiple corrections officers. Using the hog-tieing technique, the corrections officers placed Messier on a restraint table (back down), securing his legs in two leg restraints and then folding his body over his knees. This technique caused Messier to suffer heart failure and die. On April 26, 2012, Kevin Messier, as personal representative of the estate of Joshua Messier, filed a civil lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court against Bridgewater State Hospital, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, its Department of Corrections, and nine Bridgewater corrections officers. The complaint included civil rights claims, intentional torts (assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress), negligence and gross negligence claims, wrongful death, conscious pain and suffering, and loss of consortium claims. The Messier case settled on July 31, 2014, resulting in the payment of $2 million from Massachusetts.