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As I understand it, a person is not responsible for acts committed
while legally incompetent, neither at criminal nor civil proceedings.
My question is, what is the qualification for "incompetence" in a tort
case?
In 2002 we had to move my father into a facility for treatment of
Alzheimer's patients. The particular facility we chose was obviously
an old motel that had been converted. I would have favored a better-
built facility, but this one had the advantage of being 2 blocks from
where my mother lives, so she could visit him every day.
A couple of months after he moved in there, he got angry over
something and put his fist through the window of his room. We got a
bill for replacing the window, which I paid.
But was my father really responsible for this? What are the criteria?
Does an "incompetent" person have to be under a formal conservatorship
before he is no longe legally responsible for his acts? Is there some
element of "notice"? That is, might he (or his conservator or
guardians) be responsible to the general public because they aren't
aware that there's a dementia patient among them? But certainly the
facility where he was staying knew that he was demented and knew what
sorts of behavior go with that dementia, or at least they _should_
know.
This is a purely theoretical question about an actual incident. Even
if Dad weren't legally responsible, I would have paid the bill in
order to keep the facility happy with him and us. There are times
when a good relationship is worth more than all the legal rights in
the world.
This paid off later on when Dad got into a confrontation with his
roommate. Dad stood "too close" to the roommate, got "in his space",
and the roommate shoved Dad. And Dad punched him. The attendants
quickly separated them, but the roommate's son made a fuss about it.
I guess they liked Dad more than the roommate, because they gave the
roommate 30 days notice to move. If I'd been difficult about that
glass bill, they would probably have given Dad the notice instead.
--
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and
to the republic which it established, one nation from many peoples, promising
liberty and justice for all.
Feel free to use the above variant pledge in your own postings.
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