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Garby v. George Washington University Hospital10/27/2005
re negligent in placing Mr. Garby in the custody of a woman who did not know the critical facts, and that this negligence -- not the failure to order involuntary commitment -- proximately caused the suicide. I discern nothing unreasonable about such a conclusion.
In sum, the failure to argue that involuntary commitment was appropriate has little to do with the principal theory of negligence and causation on which counsel for Mrs. Garby relied. Dr. Cavanaugh's testimony, and counsel's presentation, focused, as we have seen, on the negligent formulation and implementation of a post-discharge plan. Such a plan could only come into play if Mr. Garby was not involuntarily committed. Fundamentally, arguments about involuntary commitment have nothing to do with the principal issue before us. Dr. Cavanaugh testified, in effect, that the defendants' planning for the period immediately after Mr. Garby left the hospital -- i.e., placing the decedent in the custody of his wife, when the wife knew nothing about his suicidal ideation -- violated the national standard of care and proximately caused the decedent's suicide. This was powerful testimony, sufficient in my view, for the case to go to the jury. I cannot agree with the majority's apparent position that counsel waived the claim of dangerousness or conceded away Mrs. Garby's case.
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, I would reverse the judgment and remand the case for a new trial.
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