Chin Pak v. Ga. Dep't of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities
Decision Date | 27 August 2012 |
Docket Number | No. A12A1141.,A12A1141. |
Citation | 317 Ga.App. 486,731 S.E.2d 384 |
Parties | CHIN PAK et al. v. GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES. |
Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Henry, Spiegel & Milling, Marla Michelle Eastwood, Atlanta, for Appellants.
Samuel S. Olens, Atty. Gen., Atlanta, David Stubins, Asst. Atty. Gen., for Appellee.
Myong Hui Pak died on February 11, 2009 as a result of burn injuries inflicted by her adult daughter, Na Yong Pak. Myong Hui Pak's son, Chin Pak, individually and as the administratrix of his mother's estate, filed a wrongful death action against the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities ("DBHDD"), alleging that his mother's death resulted from the DBHDD's negligent psychiatric treatment of Na Yong Pak. The DBHDD moved to dismiss Chin Pak's complaint, claiming that the action was barred by sovereign immunity. The trial court granted the motion, and Chin Pak appeals. Because we are bound by our prior decisions and those of the Georgia Supreme Court on this issue, we affirm.
The State's waiver of sovereign immunity for tort claims is set forth in OCGA § 50–21–23(a), the Georgia Tort Claims Act. Thirteen exceptions to the waiver are enumerated in OCGA § 50–21–24, and among them is the "assault and battery" exception, which says that "[t]he state shall have no liability for losses resulting from ... [a]ssault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, libel, slander, or interference with contractual rights."2 This exception has been interpreted to mean that "where a loss results from assault or battery, there is no waiver of sovereign immunity, even though a private individual or entity would be liable under like circumstances."3
In Youngblood, the plaintiff placed her mentally disabled daughter in a residential home sponsored by a state entity. The daughter was subsequently beaten while at this residential home, and the plaintiff sued the state entity.6 The Supreme Court of Georgia found that because the underlying loss was the beating of the victim, and because this act constituted a battery, the state entity was immune from suit for any alleged negligence that may have occurred prior to the loss.7
These cases are indistinguishable and controlling. Here, Na Yong Pak had a history of mental illness and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and hallucinations after being involuntarily committed to Georgia Regional Hospital ("GRH"), a facility run by the DBHDD, in December 2008. Na Yong Pak's medical records at GRH indicate that while she was a patient she did not participate in her scheduled therapy, refused to take her medications, did not attend psychiatric sessions with hospital doctors, and was considered a danger to others. Despite objections from her family, and although she continued to refuse medication or seek treatment, Na Yong Pak was discharged from GRH on January 29, 2009. On February 10, twelve days after being discharged, Na Yong Pak doused her mother in gasoline and set her on fire. Because the act causing the underlying loss in this case—Na Yong Pak's setting Myong Hui Pak on fire—constitutes an assault or battery, the exception in OCGA § 50–21–24(7) to the waiver of sovereign immunity applies.8
The trial court did not err in dismissing the wrongful death and negligence claims against the DBHDD.
Judgment affirmed.
1 (Punctuation and footnotes omitted.) Southerland v. Ga. Dept. of Corrections, 293 Ga.App. 56, 57, 666 S.E.2d 383 (2008).
3 (Punctuation omitted.) Dept. of Human Resources v. Coley, 247 Ga.App. 392, 393(1), 544 S.E.2d 165 (2000), disapproved in part on other grounds, Ga. Dept. of Transp. v. Heller, 285 Ga. 262, 265–266(1), 674 S.E.2d 914 (2009).
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