Dive Brief:
- In a 5-2 decision, the California Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Alzheimer's patients cannot be held responsible for injuries they may inadvertently cause their caregivers, including in-home health aides, if their families have provided sufficient warning that the patient may become violent.
- The case centered on a home health worker who sued a woman with Alzheimer's, along with her husband, for negligence after a knife injury.
- The dissenting Justices argued that Alzheimer's patients' families should bear responsibility for that patient's actions, particularly when choosing in-home care for convenience.
Dive Insight:
As CBS News reports, California and many other states already have laws on the books declaring that police officers, first responders, and institutional caregivers in hospital settings cannot sue Alzheimer's patients if they are injured on the job. The new Supreme Court ruling extends that policy to in-home caregivers so as to prevent a discrepancy in how different patients are treated.
"It is a settled principle that those hired to manage a hazardous condition may not sue their clients for injuries caused by the very risks they were retained to confront," wrote Justice Carole Corrigan in the majority opinion.
Aggression, anger, and violent tendencies typically do not present until the later stages of the disease, according to WebMD. Verbal assaults tend to be far more common than physical assaults.