In the 1987 case of Sheridan et ux. v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled on whether or not a hospital could be held liable for an off-duty Navy corpsman's actions that resulted in injury to civilians. The incident involved a drunken corpsman who had been treated at a naval hospital and later caused an automobile accident injuring three people. The victims sued the government under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), arguing that it was negligent in releasing him from its custody while he was still intoxicated. The court held that although there is no general duty to control another person’s conduct so as to prevent them from causing harm to others, such duty may arise if there exists certain special relationships between parties; one such relationship being when one takes charge of another whom he knows or should know is likely to cause bodily harm if not controlled. However, they also found that this liability did not extend indefinitely once someone left federal care and supervision - only until they reached "a place of safety." In this case, since the corpsman had returned home before causing damage, his actions were deemed outside of federal responsibility.

In the dissenting opinion for Sheridan et ux. v. United States, Justice O'Connor argued that the majority's decision to hold the government liable was inconsistent with previous rulings and expanded governmental liability beyond reasonable limits. She contended that it is not fair or logical to hold an employer responsible for off-duty misconduct by employees unless there is a clear connection between their employment and their wrongful actions. In this case, she did not see such a link between the sailor's job in the Navy and his drunken assault on civilians while off duty at a party away from base. Furthermore, she expressed concern about potential consequences of this ruling: if governments are held accountable for all employee misbehavior regardless of its relation to work duties, they may be forced into overly cautious policies limiting personal freedoms of public servants outside working hours.