[Absconding of a patient from an acute psychiatric ward. Whom do the courts hold liable?].

An involuntarily admitted patient absconds from a mental health hospital, which works on the open-door-system. Two days after leaving, he falls from a balcony on the fifth floor of a residential building and injures himself severely (paraplegia). The court case concerning damages and responsibility for paying the costs of the medical treatment eventually reaches the Kammergericht, the highest court of the state of Berlin. The main question in each trial was whether the hospital had violated its duty and was responsible for the accident and the resulting severe injuries. Relying on the hospital's documentation, the courts noted that closing the door of a ward is actually only one of the various possibilities of preventing absconding. The Kammergericht accepted the arguments of the hospital that prevention of absconding can also be achieved by intensive personal care and that security measures should not disturb the therapeutic alliance with the patient.