Crime
Clancy alleges her medical providers misdiagnosed her bipolar disorder and prescribed a bevy of medications that led to her psychotic break.
Lindsay Clancy, the Duxbury mother accused of killing her three children, is now suing several of her mental health care providers, alleging they failed to diagnose her bipolar disorder and prescribed a revolving door of pharmaceuticals that triggered a psychotic break.
“Lindsay Clancy did everything a mother in her situation could do,” the medical malpractice lawsuit states. “Her husband advocated for her. Her family drove from out of state to help care for her children. And still, the medical system failed her completely.”
Filed last week in Norfolk Superior Court, the lawsuit accuses several medical providers of a “catastrophic failure” to properly diagnose, treat, and monitor Clancy as her postpartum mental health rapidly declined. Instead, the suit alleges, they subjected Clancy to a “disorganized, uncoordinated course of polypharmacy” that only made her worse.
Clancy had been experiencing auditory hallucinations for weeks leading up to the killings, according to the complaint, but the commanding voice took on a new urgency after her husband left to pick up dinner on Jan. 24, 2023.
“This is your last chance. Kill the children so you can kill yourself,” the voice purportedly said. “THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. YOU HAVE TO KILL THE KIDS SO YOU CAN KILL YOURSELF.’”
According to the lawsuit, Clancy entered a dissociative “dream-like state” as she strangled 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan inside the family’s home, telling them, “Go to God, baby.”
“I lost all control. My body started acting without any control on my part,” Clancy recalls in the complaint. “I was just following commands, ‘all action.’ This voice demanded action.”
She then tried unsuccessfully to kill herself, leaving her paralyzed from the sternum down, according to the lawsuit.
“Lindsay now faces a lifetime of physical disability, psychological trauma, and the unbearable grief of waking up every day knowing she killed her children — all of which could have been prevented had Defendants provided competent medical care,” the complaint states.
The named defendants include McLean Hospital, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer A. Tufts, nurse practitioner Rebecca H. Jollotta, and their respective facilities: Aster Mental Health and South Shore Health.
Women & Infants declined to comment on the pending litigation, and Aster did not return a request for comment. McLean and South Shore Health both said they could not address specific patients or allegations but underscored their dedication to care and safety.
“McLean Hospital is committed to providing high-quality mental health care for individuals and families across the lifespan through inpatient, residential, and outpatient services,” a McLean spokesperson said. “This includes advancing the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health conditions that uniquely affect women, including postpartum mental health conditions.”
They added: “We mourn the tragic loss of three children and the allegations in this case.”
Clancy is seeking more than $1 million in damages for alleged medical malpractice and the loss of her relationships with her children and husband, among other claims. Her husband, Patrick Clancy, also filed a wrongful death lawsuit last week and accused Tufts, Jollotta, Aster, and South Shore Health of faulty care.
Tracking Lindsay Clancy’s mental health
In her lawsuit, Clancy’s lawyers say her bipolar symptoms first emerged after she gave birth to Dawson, her second child. She purportedly experienced a burst of “manic behavior” with increased energy, obsessive cleaning, and racing thoughts.
After giving birth to Callan in May 2022, Clancy dove headfirst into physical activity and “impulsively bought into a ‘beach body’ multi-level marketing scheme,” according to the complaint. But her mood “switched suddenly” to anxiety and depression about three months later.
She sought psychiatric care that fall and was put on Zoloft, one of several psychiatric medications she was prescribed in the months before the killings. The drug allegedly made her thoughts race, kept her up at night, and worsened her anxiety.
Clancy was later prescribed another antidepressant, Prozac, to similar effect — “a critical red flag for bipolar disorder that the providers failed to recognize,” the lawsuit alleges.
In November 2022, Clancy met with Jollotta, who considered bipolar disorder as a possibility and put her on the antipsychotic and mood stabilizer Seroquel, according to the complaint. After starting on the drug, however, Clancy purportedly developed suicidal thoughts and experienced auditory hallucinations she initially mistook for “intrusive thoughts.”
She called a suicide hotline and met virtually with a crisis counselor, though she struck out with both because she didn’t have a plan to kill herself, according to the lawsuit. Clancy also told her husband she was having thoughts of harming their children.
A few days before Christmas, she admitted herself to a day program at Women & Infants Hospital, where she reported feeling “numb to all emotion” and “messed up beyond repair.” The hospital ultimately ruled out postpartum depression and bipolar disorder, a conclusion the lawsuit blames on an inadequate patient history.
Her mental health worsening, Clancy admitted herself to McLean with depression and suicidal ideation over New Year’s Eve. She didn’t see a doctor until three days later and was discharged after a five-day stay, the lawsuit notes.
Clancy’s hallucinations returned within a week, and she allegedly heard a voice tell her, “You will never be the same. The only option is to die.” Plagued by dark thoughts and feeling numb, the complaint says she researched “what is a psychopath?” to see if she was one, and whether there was a cure.
The hallucinations and suicidal thoughts continued “nonstop” in the hours before Clancy allegedly strangled her children, according to the lawsuit.
“Lindsay consistently maintains her actions were compelled by a hallucinatory voice, not a conscious decision, and expresses profound, enduring love for her children,” the complaint states.
Clancy, who was diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder after the killings, has pleaded not guilty to three counts each of murder and strangulation. She’s scheduled to stand trial July 20, and her lawyer has indicated she plans to pursue an insanity defense.
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