In the Courts: Facility Not Immune from Liability for Resident’s Injury of Another Resident

In a case in which a resident of an adult foster care facility who had schizophrenia poured boiling water on another resident, the Minnesota Court of Appeals has held that the facility's operator was unable to claim immunity from liability under the Minnesota Commitment and Treatment Act.

The resident who was injured had a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from a motorcycle accident 40 years previously. The resident's care plan called for supervision 24 hours per day, seven days per week, including the specific provision that he be kept "within sight and sound at all times." The resident with schizophrenia had a history of...