No duty of care owed by a health authority to family of murder victim

A health authority does not owe a duty of care to the relatives of a person murdered by a mentally ill patient after his release from hospital.

The High Court in New England Health Authority v McKenna [2014] HCA 44 has overturned the decision of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, ruling that the Hunter and New England Local Health District (Health Authority) did not owe a duty of care to the relatives of Mr Stephen Rose (Mr Rose). Mr Rose was killed by Mr Phillip Pettigrove (Mr Pettigrove) after Mr Pettigrove was released from hospital subsequent to being classified a mentally ill person.

In this Alert, Partner Robert Tidbury, Associate Andrew Vinciullo and Law Graduate Isabel Vidot discuss the case and the High Court's decision in this matter.

Background

Mr Pettigrove had a long history of paranoid schizophrenia for which he was receiving treatment. In July 2004 while in New South Wales with Mr Rose, Mr Pettigrove was involuntarily admitted to the Manning Base Hospital (the Hospital). Dr Warwick Coombes (Dr Coombes) and medical Superintendent, Dr Wu, both classified Mr Pettigrove as a mentally ill person. Dr Coombes reviewed Mr Pettigrove's medical records and after consulting with Mr Pettigrove, Mr Pettigrove's mother and Mr Rose, all agreed that Mr Pettigrove would be kept overnight and Mr Rose would drive Mr Pettigrove to his mother's home in Echuca, Victoria.

In the course of the journey to Echuca, Mr Pettigrove killed Mr Rose, telling police he acted on impulse believing Mr Rose had killed him in a past...