McNesby v. State

The opinion of the court was delivered of

KING, P.J.A.D.

This case involves the liability and immunity of the State of New Jersey for a patient’s death at the Ancora Psychiatric Hospital. We conclude that the State was immune from liability under N.J.S.A. 59:6-6(a)(2), governing therapeutic decisions about confining of the mentally ill, for the death of the plaintiff’s decedent by suicide (self-immolation). This subsection of the Tort Claims Act specifically confers immunity for liability from claims resulting from “the terms and conditions of the confinement for mental illness.” We uphold the…