City of Revere v. Massachusetts General Hospital

The issue in this case is whether a municipality’s constitutional duty to obtain necessary medical care for a person injured by the municipality’s police in the performance of their duties includes a corresponding duty to compensate the provider of that medical care.

1 — I

On September 20, 1978, members of the police force of petitioner city of Revere, Mass., responded to a report of a breaking and entering in progress. At the scene they sought to detain a man named Patrick M. Kivlin, who attempted to flee. When repeated commands to stop and a warning shot failed to halt Kivlin’s flight, an…