Latham v. Santa Clara County Hospital

DOOLING, J.

This appeal presents a question in the field of governmental liability for tort. That the law on the general subject, both by legislative and judicial action, is being extended in favor of such liability needs no elaboration. (See the excellent discussion of the subject in

People

v.

Superior Court,

29 Cal.2d 754, 756-762 [178 P.2d 1].) The tendency both by legislation and judicial decision has been to enlarge the field of governmental liability. Nevertheless in this case we feel constrained both by the precedent of earlier decisions in the particular area of governmental activity involved and by reason of the legislative action in enacting section 203.5, Welfare and Institutions Code, in 1947 (Stats. 1947, p. 2974) to hold once again that there can be no liability imposed upon a county or its board of supervisors for negligent injury incurred by any patient in a county hospital.

The earliest decision on the subject in this state is

Sherbourne

v.

Yuba County,

21 Cal. 113 [81 Am.Dec. 151]. This was followed, in point of time by

Davie

v.

Board of Regents of U. of C.,

66 Cal.App. 693 [227 P. 243]. The Sherbourne ease held that in caring for an indigent in a county hospital the county was performing a governmental function and could not be held liable for tortious injury to the patient. The Davie case applied the same rule to the University of California in a case in which a student was tortiously injured while a patient .in the university infirmary.

Next in point of time comes

Goodall

v.

Brite,

11 Cal.App.2d 540 [54 P.2d 510]. Not a tort case, this was a taxpayer’s action to enjoin the county board of supervisors from admitting certain classes of patients to the county hospital. In that case the court held that the county hospital might legally only receive patients who by reason of inability to pay the rates charged at private hospitals in the vicinity might be deprived of hospitalization if they were not treated in the county hospital. The court expressly reserved the question of the right to receive patients into a county hospital without regard