T.L.

INTRODUCTION

While plaintiff was being transported by ambulance from a crisis stabilization unit to an inpatient psychiatric facility, she suddenly unbuckled the two belts strapping her to the semi-reclined gurney and stepped out of the back of the moving ambulance, sustaining serious injuries. She sued the ambulance company and the paramedic and EMT staffing the ambulance. At the stabilization unit, plaintiff had been placed on a “section 5585” 72-hour mental health hold. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 5585. 1) However, she was calm and cooperative while at the unit, was never diagnosed as being a danger to herself, and was transported by ambulance to and from a local hospital for a medical clearance, without incident. Her attending psychiatrist

All further statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions

Code unless otherwise indicated.

1 determined she was also stable for transport to the in-patient facility, where she could receive a higher level of care than was available locally. Defendants moved for summary judgment on the sole ground they owed no duty “to prevent plaintiff from engaging in impulsive, reckless, irrational and self-harming conduct,” relying on…