CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A convicted killer filed a malpractice suit against a mental hospital charging it paid no heed to his homicidal tendencies and negligently released him months before he killed his former girlfriend.
Bradford Prendergast, 32, now serving life for the 1979 knife slaying of Patricia Gilmore, charged in his suit against McLean Hospital his release caused him 'serious injury' and 'great pain of body and mind.'
He is seeking unspecified damages against the hospital, four psychiatrists, two psychologists and three other staff members. His brother and mother, who have joined the suit, each want $100,000 in damages for 'emotional stress.'
Prendergast was convicted of bursting into Miss Gilmore's home in Canton, kidnapping her and stabbing her to death in December 1979.
The suit, filed in Middlesex Superior Court, said Prendergast had been diagnosed as homicidal, suicidal and a paranoid schizophrenic. After the killing, Prendergast was found lying naked with his wrists cut in a motel.
The hospital was negligent in releasing him several months before the killing occurred, the suit claimed. It added that Prendergast 'is still suffering and has been put to great expense for medicines ... (and) services in connection with his defense.'
Prendergast's attorney, Joseph Balliro, who filed the civil suit, said Thursday he and his clients filed the suit to focus public attention on the issue.
'Money is the furthest thing from our mind,' he said. 'This is a platform for the public to understand how inept our public systems are.'
A hospital spokeswoman refused comment on the pending suit, saying it was hospital policy not to discuss patients.
