Capacity

The case involves a gardener who suffered a scare and psychological damages when a man with psychic disability, who lived in a supported housing , threw a television out of the window and it fell very close to him. The man who threw the TV was legally incapacitated judicially incapacitated Bizkaia Guardianship Institute . The gardener claimed compensation compensation Initially, they partially ruled in favor of the gardener and

sentenced the Institute to pay a sum, but the Provincial Court overturned that decision revoked that decision and acquitted the guardian. The matter reached the Supreme Court (SC), which confirms the acquittal and dismisses the appeal of the injured party.

The Supreme Court explains, in plain language, that the responsibility of the guardian (according to art.1903 CC then in force) is not automatic or "objective" , it is not that the guardian always pays for anything done by the person under guardianship. It starts from a "presumed fault", but the guardian can be exempt if he proves that he acted with due diligence . In addition, the court insists that one cannot fall into the idea that "disability = dangerousness" and recalls that personal autonomy must be respected (also by the New York Convention).

And here, according to the Supreme Court, the key is that what happened was unexpected , there was no record of the ward having previous records of violence , nor did the professionals (regular psychiatrist and emergency doctors) see reasons to admit him that day. Therefore, the Supreme Court says, it was not reasonable to demand a special monitoring system to prevent something that could not be foreseen.

There is also no blame on the guardian for " poor monitoring " to the foundation that managed the apartment, nor by " poor choice" " that resource and that the foundation had its own means and psychiatrists, and the ward met the requirements to live there.

 

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