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Doctor’s bid for defense cover in case tied to stalking claims revived - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Doctor’s bid for defense cover in case tied to stalking claims revived by Richard Sine Coverage Disputes Aug 11, 2026 MAG Mutual must cover a Massachusetts physician’s legal defense in a medical board proceeding stemming from allegations that he stalked a former patient and improperly prescribed her addictive medication, the state’s highest court ruled. The decision, William E. O’Connor v. MAG Mutual Insurance Company , was issued Friday by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, with Justice Dalia Wendlandt writing for the panel. Atlanta-based MAG Mutual had denied Dr. William E. O’Connor’s request for coverage after the Massachusetts medical board moved to suspend his license. The board proceeding arose from a 2019 complaint filed by the husband of Dr. O’Connor’s former patient, alleging that Dr. O’Connor, a Fall River-based physician, had stalked the woman, violated an abuse prevention order by trespassing on her property, and — while the two were in a romantic relationship from 2008 to 2016 — prescribed her an addictive sleep medication for roughly six years after her primary care doctor had declined to continue doing so out of concern about the drug’s addictive qualities. A Superior Court judge sided with the insurer, finding none of the allegations amounted to “professional services” under the policy: “[t]here is nothing about the claim of over prescribing medication for the purpose of coercing the [patient] to continue her relationship with [the physician] which could be construed as his providing ‘professional services’ to the [patient],” the superior court judge wrote, according to the ruling. The Supreme Judicial Court disagreed in part. While it agreed the stalking and trespassing allegations fell outside the policy’s coverage, it found the prescription allegation was different, since prescribing medication “is an act requiring membership in the medical profession that has traditionally been recognized as requiring the possession of special learning.” Because the insurer’s duty to defend is triggered if even one allegation is potentially covered, the court held MAG Mutual must fund the physician’s regulatory defense. The Massachusetts medical board indefinitely suspended Dr. O’Connor’s license in 2021, indefinitely suspended his right to renew it, stating that he lacked good moral character. The case was remanded to the Superior Court for further proceedings. 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