What are the facts about psychiatric malpractice? Is it increasing? If so, how rapidly? What areas of psychiatric practice pose higher risks of legal liability? The anxieties and uncertainties created by the increased threat of being sued for malpractice can interfere with the psychiatrist's provision of good clinical care. Through a general overview -- as well as a discussion of specific legal cases -- this volume presents the major malpractice traps encountered in everyday psychiatric practice.
The true story of the malpractice trial of Sara Charles, a Chicago psychiatrist, who was sued for $10 million by a patient whose failed suicide attempt left her crippled.
This book comprehensively educates psychiatrists about malpractice and other liability. It is written to also specifically assist psychiatrists who are sued or are involved in other complaints. The first two sections discuss malpractice law and the litigation process; the litigation section mainly addresses some of the more emotionally charged issues, including do’s and don’ts, how an attorney will be looking at the case, the defendant doctor’s testifying at deposition and trial, and the stress of being sued. The subsequent three sections address specific topics that give rise to liability, with each section taking a different perspective such as risks in particular clinical, by practice site, and special issues, including practice in special situations such as the current pandemic. The final section discusses other forms of liability, such as complaints to medical boards or professional association ethics committees. An exceptional work, Malpractice and Liability in Psychiatry, functions as both a go-to handbook and all-encompassing read on the aforementioned topics.
Updates to this edition: * Clinical and legal issues in the use of clozapine in treatment of schizophrenia* Clinical information and new cases involving tardive dyskinesia* Changes in civil and criminal law regarding right to refuse treatment* An update of clinical guidelines and legal regulations of ECT* An update on suicide risk assessment and new legal cases involving suicide* An update on violence risk assessment and new legal cases involving the duty to protect endangered third parties* New statutes and criminal sanctions regarding sexual misconduct * New statutes limiting the liability of therapists toward third parties who are injured or killed by patients* Changes in the relationship between psychiatrists and nonmedical therapists* Regulatory developments regarding physician impairment* Numerous tables and an updated glossary of legal terms* New section on common terms and abbreviations in legal citations
Forensic psychiatry is growing in popularity, and many a practitioner feels the urge to explore this fascinating realm of endeavor. The second edition of The Psychiatrist as Expert Witness, by Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D., is a highly readable and practical guidebook for those interested in entering the field while navigating the dangers inherent in courtroom testimony. This volume is a thoroughly revised and updated edition of his highly successful first edition. The earlier edition has been used in nearly all forensic psychiatric training programs in the U.S. and Canada since its publication in 1998. A professor of psychiatry at the Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center-Harvard Medical School, Gutheil draws on his decades of experience in the courtroom and countless beginner's mistakes to help readers avoid the pitfalls of serving as an expert witness. While of great value to newcomers to the field, the book offers insight and guidance to early-career and seasoned expert witnesses as well. As in the first edition, this volume explores the role of the expert witness, moral issues, basic principles, depositions and trials, writing for the court, and ethical marketing. Besides the requisite updating of references and suggested readings, this latest volume features expansions and additions of particular benefit to prospective expert witnesses: A glossary of useful terms Expanded definitions of key concepts A lengthened discussion of bias in testimony Additional illustrative examples A model forensic consent form for examination Cases and principles that have arisen since the first edition The Psychiatrist as Expert Witness provides the practical, hands-on mentoring and guidance that were not readily available in the past. Concrete advice replaces abstract theorizing, and informal discussion in a user-friendly tone replaces scholarly discourse. These attributes combine to make this a book that is highly accessible and usable in real world courtroom settings. While some in society decry the expert witness function, the courts will continue, from all evidence, to require expert witness testimony in increasing numbers. The author seeks to help his colleagues meet the courts' needs with ethical, effective and helpful testimony through the publication of this revised volume. At the same time, Gutheil strives to make the often complex arena of forensic psychiatry more understandable to those who wish to enter the field and to seasoned experts eager to keep up with contemporary changes in forensic psychiatry.
The third edition of this award-winning textbook has been revised and thoroughly updated. Building on the success of the previous editions, it continues to address the history and practice of forensic psychiatry, legal regulation of the practice of psychiatry, forensic evaluation and treatment, psychiatry in relation to civil law, criminal law and family law, as well as correctional forensic psychiatry. New chapters address changes in the assessment and treatment of aggression and violence as well as psychological and neuroimaging assessments.
Providing clinically useful information for mental health professionals encountering patients at risk, The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Suicide Assessment and Management calls on the authority of 40 expert contributors reflecting a wide range of clinical and forensic experience.
As President of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL), it is a pleasure to write this foreword. Dr. Richard Rosner deserves full credit for helping AAPL pursue its educational goals by publishing a series of books. Consumerism and the civil rights movement have dramatically changed the practice of American psychiatry over the last 2 decades. Extensive legal regulation now makes it necessary for both general and forensic psychiatrists to keep abreast of changing laws. The contents of Volume II of Critical Issues in American Psychiatry and the Law demonstrate Dr. Rosner's gift for selecting and editing important theoretical and practical articles. This volume addresses a broad range of forensic issues. The pen dulum-like swings of laws regarding civil commitment and insanity are clearly illuminated by Dr. Quen's contribution, "Violence, Psychiatry, and the Law." A review of historical psychiatric testimony supporting insanity defenses on the bases of homicidal mania, moral insanity, and phrenological evidence should make modern forensic psychiatrists hum ble. However, some of our colleagues continue to testify that defendants were unable to refrain from criminal conduct because of CT evidence of schizophrenia, pathological gambling, or the effects of junk food. Excellent theoretical discussions are presented by Dr. Macklin ("A Philosophical Perspective on Ethics and Forensic Psychiatry") and Mr. Hughes ("Legal Aspects of Predicting Dangerousness"). These chapters present thorough, up-to-date, scholarly analyses of complex issues from the vantage point of non psychiatrists.
