Parents Can't Sue Son's Employer For Wrongful Death

Chrissie Cole

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The parents of a store clerk stabbed to death by a shoplifter cannot sue the store for wrongful death, the state’s high court ruled.

The parents sued Massachusetts CVS Pharmacy, the owner of the Boston store that employed the high school student. In February 2004 he was fatally stabbed outside the store when he confronted a shoplifter who had stolen several boxes of toothpaste.

He is now serving a life sentence for first degree murder.

The Supreme Judicial Court said in its decision that the lawsuit was barred by a provision in the state workers' compensation law that prohibits lawsuits by workers against employers for work-related injuries.

“The ruling is terribly unfair,” Richard Campbell, an attorney for the parents told the Boston Globe of the court’s ruling.