Security Company Can Be Held Liable for Patient's Attack on Physician, but Public Entity that Designed or Maintained the Conditions Within the Facility Can Not

Facility Liability:
Ursua v. Alameda County Med. Ctr., No. C 04-3006 BZ, 2005 WL 3002175 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 27, 2005)

County Liability:
Ursua v. Alameda County Med. Ctr., No. C 04-3006 BZ, 2005 WL 3002175 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 8, 2005)

Security Agency Liability:
Ursua v. Alameda County Med. Ctr., No. C 04-3006 BZ (N.D. Cal. Nov. 9, 2005)

Although incidents of violence are relatively infrequent in facilities that provide housing to individuals with mental illness, protecting the safety of residents and staff is a continuing concern.  After a physician was killed by a patient who had been admitted and held pursuant to California law for a seventy-two­ hour evaluation as a person who is dangerous or gravely disabled as the result of a mental disorder, family members of the physician sued the facility where the attack occurred, the County responsible for the facility, and the privately owned entity that had contracted to provide security services at the facility...

Found in DMHL Volume 25 Issue 2