Hasenei v. United States

• Decision Date: 08 April 1982
• Docket Number: Civ. No. K-80-2339.
• Citation: 541 F. Supp. 999
• Parties: Walter HASENEI and Thelma Hasenei v. UNITED STATES of America.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

541 F. Supp. 999

Walter HASENEI and Thelma Hasenei v. UNITED STATES of America.

Civ. No. K-80-2339.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

April 8, 1982.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

David Saltzman, Baltimore, Md., for plaintiffs.

J. Paul McGrath, Asst. Atty. Gen., Lawrence A. Klinger and Orlando R. Ruiz, U. S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., and J. Frederick Motz, U. S. Atty., and Ellen L. Hollander, Asst. U. S. Atty., Baltimore, Md., for defendant.

FRANK A. KAUFMAN, Chief Judge.

Plaintiffs Walter and Thelma Hasenei claim damages against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b) & 2671-2680, for injuries sustained by them when their car collided head-on with a car driven by John D. Hock, a veteran of the United States Army, on August 21, 1976, in Adams County, Pennsylvania, near Gettysburg. Hock died in the accident. At the time of the collision, Hock was driving his car on the wrong side of the road with his headlights off. Furthermore, a blood test subsequently performed indicated that Hock had a blood alcohol content of 250 mg. per liter.

Plaintiffs allege that a Veterans' Administration ("VA") psychiatrist negligently permitted Hock to leave the VA Outpatient Clinic in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on August 9, 1976. Plaintiffs, in so alleging, contend that the psychiatrist knew or should have known that Hock was an alcoholic who was incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle while drinking and that Hock was a person with suicidal tendencies who presented a danger to himself and to others. That psychiatrist, say plaintiffs, should have attempted to hospitalize Hock, either voluntarily or involuntarily, or at a minimum should have provided to Hock proper medication and follow-up care. Further, plaintiffs claim that defendant should have notified the Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles ("DMV") that Hock was incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle so that, if appropriate, that Department could have taken steps to prevent Hock from driving.

Facts

The following facts are hereby found by this Court, following trial: On January 28, 1976, Hock was voluntarily admitted to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center ("Walter Reed") in Washington, D. C., after being referred to that facility by the Mental Hygiene Clinic at Ft. Ritchie, Maryland. Doctors at Walter Reed described Hock as a person who had enlisted in the Army in August 1970 with the hope of becoming a helicopter pilot and getting killed in Vietnam, but who later became bored with helicopter training and dropped out. Hock was diagnosed as suffering from alcoholism and schizophrenia, paranoid type. Hock had been a heavy drinker for five to seven years prior to his admission to Walter Reed and at that time consumed at least one gallon of bourbon per week at home and in addition spent two to six nights every week drinking in various bars. Hock also had a history of violent and irrational behavior while intoxicated —a history which included threatening his wife with a knife, getting into fights in hopes of getting killed, burning a bar from which he had been ejected and breaking a window in a liquor store which would not open after hours to sell him alcohol. Hock's wife had left him on several occasions because of physical abuse. Before entering Walter Reed, Hock had had one prior hospitalization for drinking, but had never been maintained on any kind of a formal program involving psychiatric care or alcohol counseling.

On January 20, 1976, Hock reportedly came home intoxicated, took out his gun, put the gun to his head and cocked it. His wife then took the gun away from him and put him to bed. Hock was subsequently completely amnesiac about the episode. However, after a long talk with a friend who was a reformed alcoholic, Hock voluntarily sought help at Ft. Ritchie where he was referred to Walter Reed.

Prior to his admission to Walter Reed, Hock was despondent and felt that something needed to be done to help him change his life. At Walter Reed, Hock indicated that he would try once more to solve his drinking problem and improve his life, but that if he failed this time he would obtain money illegally and injure or kill others if necessary to accomplish what he wanted. Hock stated that he had always been dissatisfied with his life, that he had always been bored and that he had never been able to tolerate a job for more than a short period. He also stated that he felt totally worthless and had long wanted to commit suicide, but that, since he believed in reincarnation, he had not committed suicide because thereafter he would have had to go through the same misery again. Hock stated that he frequently felt that people were watching him and talking about him behind his back. In the year prior to his admission to Walter Reed, Hock had had several experiences with "astral projection" and auditory hallucinations in which dead members of his family had appeared and spoken to him. Hock described severe feelings of isolation and of difficulty being around others. Hock indicated that he had fantasized about murdering persons in positions of authority. Although Hock denied ever having taken any concrete steps to commit murder, he stated that he feared that someday he would lose control of himself and injure himself or others.

Doctors at Walter Reed considered Hock's intelligence to be above normal. Hock appeared to those doctors to be well-oriented as to person, time and place. His memory and abstract reasoning appeared good. His judgment was considered intact concerning social norms and family, but impaired concerning finances, employment and future plans. Hock was apparently able to recognize that he was ill and in need of help and was aware that he himself was the source of many of his problems.

At Walter Reed Hock was placed on Thorazine to relieve his agitation. His dosage of Thorazine was ultimately increased to 1600 mg. per day. Although during the early part of his hospitalization, Hock complained bitterly about being hospitalized and particularly about the side effects associated with taking the Thorazine (i.e., nasal congestion, occasional abdominal cramps and somnolence), Hock eventually acknowledged that he felt less anxious and indicated his surprise at his lack of desire for alcohol. Hock noted that the Thorazine seemed to be an effective substitute for alcohol. Hock also apparently experienced no auditory or visual hallucinations while in the hospital. While at Walter Reed, Hock enrolled in an Alcoholics Anonymous program and seemed to respond favorably, though he was full of anxiety about his return to civilian life and demonstrated poor insight as to realistic goals and means of obtaining them.

A Medical Board at Walter Reed concluded that Hock was unfit for further military duty, but that because Hock had not received the maximum benefit from his hospitalization at Walter Reed, he should not be, even though he was mentally competent and able to manage his own financial affairs, discharged to his own care. The Board accordingly recommended that Hock be transferred to a VA hospital near his home for further treatment.

Hock was subsequently voluntarily transferred to the VA Hospital in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, near his home, on March 23, 1976, and was discharged from that hospital on April 2, 1976. Dr. Trevor J. Pearman, a doctor on the staff at the Lebanon facility, described Hock's stay at the hospital as uneventful and Hock himself as cooperative and alert and as a patient who took his medicine without any difficulty. Hock apparently mixed well with others and managed his privileges satisfactorily. Hock seemingly was not anxious or suffering from paranoia. Hock wanted to be discharged in order to return to his family and appeared in good contact with reality. Hock asked that arrangements be made for him to see a vocational counselor for job placement and indicated that he contemplated taking a Civil Service Examination as well. Hock expressed a strong dislike of hospitalization, but did not seem hostile, aggressive, suicidal or homicidal to the doctors at the Lebanon VA Hospital.

At the Lebanon VA Hospital, Hock was seen by an alcoholism rehabilitation counselor, who commented that Hock seemed fully aware of his drinking problem. Hock became involved with the Alcoholism Group during his stay at the Lebanon VA Hospital and stated that he planned to continue to attend Alcoholic's Anonymous meetings after his discharge in order to stay sober. Hock apparently did not have a drink of alcohol during the entire time he was hospitalized at Walter Reed and at Lebanon.

Upon Hock's discharge, the doctors at Lebanon and he agreed that he would visit the VA Outpatient Clinic in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in one month for review. In addition, Hock was given a one-month's supply of Thorazine 250 mg. to take four times a day as medication. On April 29, 1976, Hock was involuntarily retired from the Army and placed on the temporary disability retirement list.

As a result of some unexplained foul-up, Hock did not attend the VA Outpatient Clinic in Harrisburg until August 9, 1976, considerably more than one month following his discharge from the Lebanon VA Hospital. At the Harrisburg VA Outpatient Clinic, Hock was examined for approximately 1½ hours by Dr. Jacob H. Garber, a psychiatrist. Prior to Hock's outpatient visit, Garber reviewed Hock's past medical records from Walter Reed and Lebanon. Garber's report of his August 9, 1976, examination indicates that Hock was unemployed from his discharge from Lebanon until August 9, 1976, but that on August 5, 1976, Hock had taken a civil service examination to become a junior federal assistant and that Hock hoped to become employed in that capacity.¹ Garber reported that Hock was neatly dressed, appeared his stated age of 29 years and chain-smoked throughout the session. Garber indicated that Hock's speech was understandable, well-organized and spontaneous. Hock...