Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. Eleven suicides are attempted for every successful one.
Typically the defense in a suicide case is lack of control. That is, the therapist lacked control over the patient in particular in an outpatient situation.
Suicide cases, by definition, are difficult in Virginia. Typically to recover, the decedent must have been of unsound mind when the act was committed. Wackwitz v. Roy, 244 Va. 60, 65-66 (1992) Typically the burden of establishing that defense would fall on the defendant. Reid v. Newton, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52072 (2014)
However there are some Virginia circuits that require the plaintiff to establish that the decedent was of unsound mind. Saunders v. Leesburg Inst., 30 Va. Cir. 113 (1993); Joyce v. Center for Brief Counseling, Inc., 27 Va. Cir. 209, 211 (1992)
Suicide Medical Malpractice-Special Relationship
The factual predicates that need to be laid are based upon the assessment conducted by the therapist. The factors that typically are looked at are the following:
- History of attempts;
- Medical seriousness of the prior attempts;
- Acute ideation;
- Severe hopelessness;
- Attraction to death;
- Family history;
- Acute overuse of alcohol or drugs;
- Feelings of loss and separation. 30 Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 576 (1999)
Based upon that assessment, there may be a need for cautionary measures. Those cautionary measures may consist of several things:
- Medication;
- Constructing a treatment program;
- More frequent visits;
- Controlling access to weapons and drugs;
- Voluntary admission.
Suicide Medical Malpractice-Best Practices
The types of treatment that seem to be best in dealing with suicidal patients are actual behavior therapy where steps are taken to modify behavior, problem-solving therapy where the patient is expressly taught how to deal with feelings of depression and suicide, interpersonal psychotherapy that attempts to build a bond with the patient.
Causation
The most difficult element in any suicide case is establishing causation. The allegation that needs to be made is that the therapist either knew or should have known that the suicide was likely and then failed to take adequate preventive measures.
These are never simple cases. However they can be successful where there is improper assessment and improper treatment.
Call, or contact us for a free consult. Also for more info on medical malpractice see the Wikipedia pages. Also see the post on this site dealing with malpractice issues.
