Aguirre-Alvarez
Aguirre-Alvarez v. Regents of University of California
Opinion
Opinion
Boren, J.
Does a hospital treating a patient in constructive police custody who dies at the hospital from gunshot wounds inflicted by police owe a duty to the decedent’s relatives to locate and notify them? We conclude that the hospital does not owe such a duty.
Facts
Appellants Manuel Aguirre and Rosa Alvarez are the parents of the deceased, 19-year-old Alfonso Aguirre-Alvarez (decedent). Appellant Apolonio Aguirre-Alvarez (Aguirre-Alvarez) is decedent’s brother and the appointed personal representative of his brother’s estate. Paramedics transported decedent on May 7, 1992, to University of California Los Angeles Medical Center (UCLA), where he was admitted for emergency trauma care. Decedent had suffered six gunshot wounds to his chest, abdomen, and upper left extremity. The gunshots injured several internal organs, decedent’s spinal column, and his blood vessels. One of the injuries was to his colon, probably resulting in fecal matter infecting the abdominal cavity.
Initially, UCLA listed decedent as “John Doe.” Subsequently, in accordance with hospital policy regarding patients with gunshot wounds or who have been involved in criminal activity, the hospital listed decedent…