Suicidal Patient’s Bathroom Door ‘Unlocked’: Suicide Results. Case on Point: Wuest v. McKennan Hospital, 619 N.W.2d 682-SD (2000)

This article uses the legal case of Wuest v. McKennan Hospital to investigate the questions: If a suicidal patient’s bathroom door is left unlocked and the patient hangs himself in the bathroom, is that negligence per se? and Does Res Ipsa Loquitur (RIL) apply? Concerning this particular case, it is found that the court was hard pressed to find that there was any responsibility on behalf of the hospital which proximately resulted in the patient’s suicide. Implications are discussed.