On Sept. 28, 2012, plaintiffs’ decedent Susan Cooper, a 33-year-old woman suffering from bipolar schizophrenia, was receiving around-the-clock in-home care from Extraordinary Home Care Inc. Although Cooper had previously exhibited increasingly erratic behavior, she was found to not qualify for a potential 5150 hold. At approximately 3 a.m., Cooper asked her caregiver, Beth Beine, to stay at the residence and sleep on her couch. After Cooper fell asleep, Beine, who believed that Cooper required no further assistance, went to sleep on the couch. When Beine was awoken by the next caregiver, Elizabeth Thomas, at 7 a.m., Beine left Cooper’s home believing her to be still asleep. Cooper was found deceased an hour later. Her cause of death was ruled a suicide by way of an acute polydrug overdose. The decedent’s parents, Charles and Linda Cooper, sued Beine, Thomas and Extraordinary Home Care. The parents alleged that the defendants were negligent in their supervision of the decedent, resulting in their daughter’s wrongful death. Thomas was ultimately dismissed from the case, as it was determined that the death occurred during Beine’s shift. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the decedent’s parents had hired Beine and Extraordinary Home Care to supervise their daughter and prevent her from harming herself. Counsel also contended that the defendants were responsible for administering and controlling the decedent’s medication, as well as documenting her erratic behavior. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that Beine’s failure to monitor the decedent when she was believed to be asleep enabled the decedent’s suicide. In addition, the plaintiffs’ emergency medicine expert opined that the decedent’s overdose would not have resulted in her death if medical attention was provided in a timely manner. Before trial, defense counsel moved for summary judgment on the basis that the defendants had no legal duty to prevent Cooper’s suicide. The motion was denied on the ground that there was evidence of a heightened awareness that may have given rise to duty based upon the special relationship between the caregiver and the client. Defense counsel’s motion for nonsuit based on the lack of legal or contractual duty to prevent the suicide was also denied. At trial, defense counsel denied that Beine and Extraordinary Home Care was hired by the decedent’s parents and, instead, argued that the defendants had entered into a contract with the decedent’s husband to provide non-medical care-giving services on an “as-needed” basis. Counsel contended that the decedent was physically able to take care of all her daily living activities and that Extraordinary Home Care was only expected to provide companionship and transportation when the decedent’s husband was working or otherwise unavailable. Counsel further contended that under the contract, the decedent could reportedly dismiss her caregivers at will. However, plaintiff’s counsel noted that by September 2012, the decedent’s husband was incarcerated and Extraordinary Home Care was requested to increase its services to a 24/7 capacity. The defense’s medical toxicologist opined that based on the amount of medication found in Cooper’s blood post-mortem, it was within a reasonable degree of medical probability that she would not have survived even with maximum supportive care. The defense’s home health care expert also testified that care-giving is a non-medical service that specifically excludes the administration of medication. Thus, he concluded that the defendants could not have taken control of the decedent’s medication prior to the date of loss. The expert further testified that a caregiver is not typically expected to monitor and control a client to prevent self-harm., Susan Cooper committed suicide. Her cause of death was ultimately determined to be due to an acute polydrug overdose. She was 33 years old. The decedent is survived by her parents and her husband, who was incarcerated. The decedent’s parents sought recovery of $1 million in past non-economic damages and $5 million in future non-economic damages for the loss of love, comfort and society caused by their daughter’s suicide. Defense counsel asserted that the decedent’s parents had an estranged relationship with their daughter.