Is it legal for a caregiver to leave a disabled person unattended in the car for 15 minutes?

I see no problem with this. Like said, what kind of disability?

BTW, the new challenge is that when she DOES need to get out -- say to go in to the dentist's office for teeth cleaning (a lovely challenge to have at 98), she wants to exercise her right to sit and wait for me, so we have to joke a bit about how I can't take her teeth in unless her body comes along. That usually get a smile and cooperation.

My experience is similar to that of Murphyclm. It's a huge challenge to just get Mom to go out anywhere instead of "sitting right here in my chair until you get back", which works when my husband is home to monitor things. When I do finally get her to go with me, she doesn't want to get out -- walking is difficult due to bad knees, weight, etc. She is not at all interested in doing anything other than sitting quietly in the car just as she sits quietly in the living room, so I don't worry when I leave the car running so she can have heat/air conditioning, and radio. Of course, I don't leave her for long periods, but so far a quick jaunt into a store to complete an errand has had no ill effects on her, and gives me a brief spurt of independence and empowerment -- almost a mini-respite experience. Rewarding her with an ice cream cone afterwards for "being so helpful" doesn't hurt, either. Each person is different, of course, but this has worked fine with my Mom. A bonus is that she feels she is empowered to say "yes" or "no" to going in with me and she likes that.

Like most say - it depends. Mom often waits in the car. She has alz...But she also has a bad hip that makes walking difficult for her. She also does not have wandering tendencies - but if she did, the hip is a big deterrent. So, for her - in our situation - it works.

I actually did this quite a bit with mom (Alzheimer's) over the past year or so. She absolutely did not want to go into the store or library with me. I would lock the car doors, actually leave the car running in the cold weather with the radio on (I have 2 keys). She was happy with that and a few pieces of candy. She has Alzheimer's. I would not do it much longer than 15 minutes, and I definitely accomplished a lot this way since I'm very organized In the summer, this worked fine for garage sales; again, she would not be interested in leaving the car, and I could do my thing for a few minutes and be in plain sight. She never once got out of the car. No one ever got upset since she looked relatively content.

Depends on the disability and if the disability causes the individual to be incompetent.
It is not so much the disability, but whether leaving the person alone will cause harm to themselves or others.

Depends on the state but most likely, it is not illegal. Whether it is practical or safe depends on the disability and environment. Leaving someone in a hot car in the summer if they are unable to roll down a window or open a door is a lot different than leaving someone with a broken toe on a mild day.

Disabled in what way? I know at least 3 people who are on disability. All three of them drive themselves. I would not hesitate to let any of them wait for me in a car.

A fourth person I know on disability cannot drive. She certainly can be and is on her own in her home. If I were ever going to drive her somewhere and run into a store on the way I would first discuss it with her mother, who knows her abilities better than I do.

I cannot believe it is always illegal to have a "disabled" person wait in a car. Surely that has to depend on the nature and severity of the disability.

No, it is not safe.
Have you read the news lately?

No.

Guess it depends on the local laws of your community, and what type of handicap the person has. And if that person in the car will cause a commotion while the person is in the store.