Cottage Hospital was ordered to pay $250,000 in legal fees and
court costs for failing to warn patients receiving
electroconvulsive shock therapy (ECT) of the treatment’s inherent
risks. Judge Denise de Bellefeuille ruled the fees were warranted
because the suit was beneficial to public interest. Cottage stopped
performing shock treatments after de Bellefeuille issued an
injunction against the practice in January 2005 and has filed an
appeal of the judgment.
