Can't Sue Hospital Over Gay Partners Death

A New York Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that a gay man does not have the right to sue St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan for malpractice in the death of his partner because the couple was not legally married.

In a 3-2 ruling the court tossed out a 2003 ruling that permitted John Langan of Vermont to sue the hospital for causing the death of his partner, Neal Spicehandler, saying that if the court allowed the suit to proceed it would exceed the powers given to it by the Constitution.

Adam Aronson, a lawyer with the gay rights group Lambda, and Mr. Langans attorney, stated that the decision was wrong and that "If this decision is allowed to stand, same sex couples will be denied the very significant and important protections that all married heterosexual spouses can get. And they will be denied those protections for no reason other than the fact they are gay."

Langan and Spicehandler were together for 15 years before they got married in a civil union ceremony in Vermont in 2000.

Spicehandler died in 2002 from an embolism at St. Vincent's after having broken a leg in a hit-and-run accident on.