Opinion ID: 777261
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Application of Fourteenth Amendment standard to defendants

Text: 60 Here, as in Youngberg, the respective due process interests of the decedent and NRPH should have been balanced. While NRPH has an interest in running an administratively efficient institution, such an interest should not be allowed to trump the constitutional rights of the involuntarily committed who are institutionalized for their own safety. Although the State has considerable discretion in determining the nature and scope of its responsibilities, it is also charged with adhering to professional norms of conduct. Id. at 317, 323-24, 102 S.Ct. 2452. Moreover, where hospital staff admittedly fail to follow institutional policies and procedures, questions about the State's adherence to accepted professional conduct are not unwarranted. 61 The decedent's personal safety was entrusted to NRPH and its staff. Yet, the decedent met his demise while committed to NRPH. Here, numerous questions about the decedent's safety and NRPH staff's actions abound. First, would a reasonable medical professional in this situation have allowed a mental health patient known to have heightened sensitivity to heat stroke be placed in a location with the potential for high temperatures? Additionally, would a reasonable medical professional have allowed such a patient to wander off on an extremely hot day when the patient was ordered to stay indoors? Finally, would a reasonable medical professional take an hour to respond to a medical emergency involving a patient known to have numerous serious medical conditions without any explanation for the delay? 62 These factual issues have not been clarified in this case because the district court failed to consider this case under the Fourteenth Amendment standard. 5 We decline to make such factual determinations as this is well beyond the realm of this court's authority. However, we believe that it is essential that such factual determinations are made in accord with appropriate legal standards. 63 In the instant case, the decedent was involuntarily committed. The lower court should have considered the defendants' duty to provide reasonable safety for the decedent under a heightened Fourteenth Amendment standard. Under this legal standard, there clearly was a genuine issue of material fact with regard to some of the defendants which could lead a rational fact finder to find in Terrance's favor: whether the actions and inactions of the named defendants were based upon accepted professional judgment. The facts in this case could likely support a finding that one or more defendants committed a substantial departure from accepted professional judgment. Thus, the district court's grant of summary judgment in defendants' favor was erroneous. Accordingly, we find that is necessary upon remand for the district court to conduct a trial on plaintiff's claims against each named defendant under the Fourteenth Amendment standard as outlined in this opinion as the lower court has not yet considered the decedent's due process rights under this standard.