Should the state of Utah be held liable for an assault committed by a mentally disabled man who was under state care?
Attorneys for a Utah woman say the Utah Governmental Immunity Act should not apply to her case but rather she should be allowed to sue the state for negligence.
The incident took place in October 2001 at the Kmart store in American Fork. Tracy Wagner says she was standing in line with others at the customer service desk. Somewhere behind Wagner was Sam Giese, a mentally disabled patient under care of the Utah State Development Center. Giese was being supervised by two center employees.
Wagner says Giese became violent and took her by the hair and head and threw her to the ground, causing "serious bodily injury."
Under Utah law, the state cannot be sued for assault; however, Wagner's attorney argued this week before the Utah Supreme Court that Giese did not have the capacity for forming the intent required for assault, leaving the state responsible for the man's actions.
Ryan Tenney said there was a question whether Giese was able to understand the consequences of his actions. "We're not asking that mentally incompetent people be let off for their actions," Tenney said, but added assault requires an intent to cause bodily harm.
Deputy Attorney General Barry Lawrence argued that Giese wanted to make some form of contact and that whether he intended to cause harm does not negate the fact that he hurt Wagner. Lawrence used an example of a 3-year-old who pulls the trigger of a gun by accident. Even if the child had no concept of the consequence, Lawrence said, there still could be harm done.
Lawrence said employees of the Utah State Development Center have a huge responsibility to care for mentally disabled adults. By making the decision to take them into the public for outings, the state needs some form of immunity.
"The state is not immunized from negligence," Justice Matthew Durrant said.
Outside court, Lawrence said if the supreme court finds that Giese did not have the capacity to understand his actions, it could leave the state liable for Wagner's negligence claim. If the court rules that Giese did understand what he was doing that day, the government is immune from legal action.
The court is expected to issue a ruling within the following weeks.
E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com