(Supreme Court of New South Wales – Court of Appeal) The plaintiff, who had been negligently discharged from a psychiatric hospital, was acquitted of murdering a woman six hours later on the ground of mental illness but ordered to be detained in strict custody as a mental patient. Held; the court applied the maxim if ex turpi cause non oritur actio.
Austlii NEGLIGENCE – duty of care – nature and content of duty of care owed to psychiatric patient – Mental Health Act 1900 – ex turpi causa non actio – public policy – causation.
Citations:
[2005] NSWCA 33, (2005) 63 NSWLR 22
Links:
Jurisdiction:
Australia
Cited by:
Cited – Gray v Thames Trains and Others HL 17-Jun-2009
The claimant suffered psychiatric injury in a rail crash caused by the defendant’s negligence. Under this condition of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the claimant had later gone on to kill another person, and he had been detained under section 41. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Commonwealth, Damages, Negligence
Updated: 11 June 2022; Ref: scu.347284
