ABSTRACT
Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals can, under certain circumstances, be liable in a malpractice claim when a patient seriously harms another person. When a victim of patient-inflicted violence or the family or estate of a deceased victim files a lawsuit based on the psychiatrist’s negligent failure to protect, the forensic psychiatrist may be called on to review the case to determine whether the care given was negligent, substandard, or failed to satisfy fiduciary or legal duties, and whether the errors might have led to the harm inflicted. The consulting forensic psychiatrist must be familiar with relevant legal cases, statutory law, and the professional standard of practice.
