Dodson v. South Dakota Department of Human Services

Kristi Dodson was hospitalized at Averra McKennan Hospital (McKennan), where she was diagnosed as being bipolar. Patients with this mental illness suffered from wide mood swings and often committed suicide. In fact, Kristi tried to commit suicide while at McKennan, but hospital personnel were able to resuscitate her. Three days after Kristi’s suicide attempt, she was transferred from McKennan to the South Dakota Human Services Center (HSC) in order to receive long-term treatment. However, Kristi was discharged one week later and killed herself the following day. Kristi’s husband, Jason Dodson (plaintiff), brought suit for medical malpractice as an individual and as the administrator of Kristi’s estate (plaintiff) against McKennan and one of its physicians, HSC, and the South Dakota Department of Human Services and its employee, Dr. Hartley Alsgaard (defendants). There was a factual dispute at trial regarding the reason for Kristi’s discharge from HSC. The defendants asserted affirmative defenses, including contributory negligence. The jury was instructed to measure Kristi’s contributory negligence by the objective standard of a reasonable person in like circumstances. The jury determined that the applicable standard of care in Kristi’s case was breached by HSC or Dr. Alsgaard and legally caused her harm. However, based on the objective standard of a reasonable person, the jury determined that Jason could not recover damages due to Kristi’s contributory negligence. Jason appealed, arguing that the jury was not provided with the correct instructions on contributory negligence in the case of a suicide.