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Pa. Supreme Court Takes Up Doctor Liability In Western Psych Shooting Lawsuit

PITTSBURGH (AP/KDKA) -- Pennsylvania's highest court will determine if a woman shot in the psychiatric clinic where she worked can sue the University of Pittsburgh over the assailant's treatment before the attack.

The Supreme Court announced Tuesday it will decide if a county judge should have dismissed the lawsuit by Kathryn Leight against the school and a physicians' group.

The lawsuit concerns injuries suffered by Leight, a receptionist, during the March 2012 rampage by John Shick.

Shick, who'd been diagnosed with schizophrenia, killed a worker inside Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and injured several others before being shot to death by police.

The justices will decide if doctors can be sued over a mass shooting incident after they took steps to have a patient committed involuntarily but didn't complete the process.

(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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