Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE AYTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN
Dr. C. A. Sbau, Superintendent
Big Sprw State Hoappital
Big spHng, Texrs
Thin 18 In e*t for our oplniall on Inaaawh 118 the above quoatl exaot nature of ;a b7 7oour letter it- mlf, ve quot.
r an opinton repertmrrlon patient eom- on ato the ous- to the prtient 7 vlth the horpital.
number, say rla or tjvlahemtotakethem 0, to a ball game, e&o., eY.lpIIea of ruoln ~orentlon.
moment of the relatlver stancea and In the event of an aooldent vhere- by “L tient might be injured, vould the euper tadent OF the State be lisble for E
juagnent?"
Dr. C. A. WV, Page 2
Articles 3lg3I and 3193h, Vtmion’e Civil Statutes of 1925, preectibe the oonditlons upon vhIch aentall7 Ill patients of a State hospital me7 be granted temporary leave of abeenoe f-mm the Iiletltutlonr
"Art. 31931. Temporary absence “The superintendent of nny Institution, after the exaalnation as hereiPsfter provfdbd, ata7 permit an7 Inmate thereof tempomrrIl7 to leave such inrtltotlon in charge of Me guardIan, relatlvee, friends, or b7 himeli,
for a period not exceeeding tvelve lopthe,
andara7~~lvehimwhenret~db7~euah gunrdlnn, relative, friend, or upon his own
application, vlthln eueh period, without an7 further order of eomanltmmt, but ao patient, vho h&e been ahnrged vlth, or convicted of,
eoam offense sad beea 8djudged ineaue in
reoordanoe vlth the proylelona 05 the code.
of crInlna1 prooedure, still be permftted
to temporarily leave such InetltutIon without the approval of the governor, nor shall euoh permIssion teminnts or Iu en7 ua7 affeat the or*lnalorderof couttment. The superintend- ent -7 xwquire 88 a oopditlon of such leave of absence, that the person in vhosa oharge the patient la permitted to ieave lnetitu- tlon, shall m8ke reports to him of the patient's condition. An7 euoh superintendent, guamlIen, relative or friend ma7 termlmate such lerve
of l beewe at nny tlm and authorize the
arrest and return of the patient. An7 petiae officer of this State ahall oauee such patient to be meted and returned upon the request of en7 euoh superintendent, guamlIen, reietlve or friend. An7 patient, exoept eucih as &e
charged vlth, or oonvIcteU of 801~ offene~, a bye been uJB11Bed imane in aapOFdE&lCe with the provisions of tbs code of orimlnnl
procedure, vho has returned to tb inrt%tu-
tion at the expiration ~of twelve months ma7 be granted am add&tlonal leave by the aupeH~- tendent or upon hi8 recomendation.
Do. C. A. Sbav, Pa&e 3
'Art. 3193J. Money and clothing "Ho patient in a State hospital shall be discharged therefrom or permitted to leave on a temporary visit without suitable clothing; and the Board of Control may furnish the ma&se, and such an amoullt of money, not exceeding
twenty dollars (920.00) as they may consider necessary. Inquiry shall be made into the
future situation of every patient &bout to be'dlscharged or permitted to be tmnporarlly absent, and preeautlonary medical advice
shall be given him. Ho patient shall be
discharged or permltted to be temporarily
absent from anY inetltutlon vlthout a per-
sonal eximlnatlon of his mental condition made by one of the hospital physicians vlth- In forty-eight hours of hle departure, the
result of vhIch shall be entered in his case reoord:
Our lnterpretstlon of the authority granted the eqper- Intended by these etstutee, as related to the ml.n queetioa here ln~ol~ed, hinges upon the proper meaning of the vord "friend" as used in the statute. We believe the follovlng definitions ars within both the letter and the spirit of the lnvr
A friend is "one vho entertains for another euoh een- tirwmts of eeteesi, respeot, and affeotion that ha eeske Me eoelety and velfare; a veil-wisher." Uebeter~e InteFnatlonal Diotlonary, 2nd Ed. Unnbrldged.
"A 'friend' Is one vho entertains regard for another and takes native interest in his valfare. In re Wagner, 114 H.W. 868, 869,
870, 151 Mich. 74. Words and Phrnsee, Vol.
17, P. 596.
"The vord 'friend,' 8s used in 8 stat- ute providing for the fIl:ng of a petition for adjudication of mental IncompetencY by
'a relative or friend,' meaue one f8YOrablY toward the alleged Incompetent and ~ disposed scting for his interest and beliefIt, no paptiodar degree of inttioy beins reqUlmd*', Aed Y.. Robinson, 78 P. (26) 1156.
pp. C. A. Shav, Page 4
"The vord Ufriend,' Fn Insanity Lav, 173, LWS 1896, P. 501, o. 545, providfng
that any one in custody 8s an insane per-
son IS entitled to n vrlt of habeee corpus on a proper application nvnde by him or some 'friend' in hla behalf, means one 'fnvorably 104 App. Div. 47, quoting And. disposed. Wordn snd Phrases, Vol. 17,
L&v Dict.~
P. 696.
Ye amiums that nny.pereon to vhom the superintendent of a State hospital might surrender custody and control of 8 lpenta3J.J Ill patient, even for s short time, vould be ens vho (although not 8 relstlve,~nor an employee of the hospital) V&B favorably disposed tovnrd the patlent, snd thus his friend.
And our opinion la llmlted to such 8 case.
It 1s therefore our oplnIon that the euperlntendent of 8 St&e hospitsl wq legally, acting in his dieoretIon for the best interests of the pntlents, release mentally Ill patle&e of euoh hospital to a person not eonneoted vlth the horpltal, mm relsted to any of the patIente, for purpose of fumlahlng reorentlon to such patlente. It will be noted, hovever, that the etetutes ebova quoted contain oetiaiu condltlous upon vhich l u8h aotlon may be taken, and these conditlone met be oompllbil vlth. And, elncle the statute plsoes the matter in the dieeretiaar of the superintendent, and does not require the consent of the pntlsnt, ve are of the opinion that their consent is not required.
Your question as to the llnblllty of the State In aase 8 patient is lnjursd vhlle so relereed has been deoided very reoent- ly by the Dallas Court of Civil Appeals in the cnee of Yelch vs. St&s, 148 S. V. (26) 876 (vrlt of error refused), In that ease the court held that the State v&s not liable for fhe alleged neg- llgeuce of the superintendent of the Temell Statb Rospltal in permlttlng an employee of the hospital, knovu to be 8 reokleea driver, to oarry patients to n ball game la hle car (one of the patients being killed in a colllelon occturrlng during the trip). The superintendent's linbllity in such a case vould depend on vhether or not he vas negligent in guarding the velfsxe end safety of the patient; which, of course, vould depend upon the clrcum- stances In each case.
Yourr veq truly ATTORREXBEEiUL OF TEXAS