NEWYLWED GAYS' SUIT COULD MAKE LAW HISTORY: From the Boston Herald

The arrival of legal gay marriage in Massachusetts cleared the way for a milestone medical negligence lawsuit filed yesterday in Worcester Superior Court.

Michelle Charron and Cynthia Kalish, who married Thursday and have a 6-year-old daughter, sued Worcester's Fallon Clinic and two of its doctors, claiming they misdiagnosed Charron's now-incurable breast cancer.

The legalization of gay marriage allows Kalish to sue for loss of companionship, grounds not allowed to gay couples before Monday's historic change.

Charron's cancer has spread to her liver and sternum, bringing "substantial risk of premature death," according to the lawsuit.

"It was hard (in Thursday's wedding ceremony) when they got to the 'in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live,'" said Kalish, 39, who works in human resources.

The couple met 18 years ago while working at battered womens' shelters. They have lived together for 12 years.

"Cynthia and I aren't going to grow old together," Charron said. "I think a lot about Hannah (their daughter) and the things in her life I may miss . . . her first date, the prom, her Bat Mitzvah." ...

"The (companionship) claim brought by a spouse is not new, but the fact that this is a claim brought by a same-sex spouse is what makes this unique," said Paul Martinek, editor of Lawyers Weekly USA. "This shows one of the major benefits for same-sex couples to say, 'I am married.'"

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posted by Eve at 8:32 PM | link

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