psychiatrist and psychologist liability for patient's harm...
TRANSCRIPT
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Psychiatrist and Psychologist Liability for Patient's Harm to Self and Others, Unjustified Involuntary CommitmentSuicide After Examination; Harm Generally and in the Workplace
Today’s faculty features:
1pm Eastern | 12pm Central | 11am Mountain | 10am Pacific
The audio portion of the conference may be accessed via the telephone or by using your computer's
speakers. Please refer to the instructions emailed to registrants for additional information. If you
have any questions, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-926-7926 ext. 1.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2019
Presenting a live 90-minute webinar with interactive Q&A
O. Brandt Caudill, Jr., Partner, Callahan Thompson Sherman & Caudill, Irvine, Ca.
Rhett Fraser, Attorney, Huegli Fraser, Portland
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FOR LIVE EVENT ONLY
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PSYCHIATRIST AND PSYCHOLOGIST
LIABILITY - 2019
O. Brandt Caudill, Jr., Esq.
Callahan, Thompson, Sherman & Caudill, LLP
--Your California Lawyers
For More Information or Assistance, Contact:
(949) 261-2872
www.ctsclaw.com
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OVERVIEW
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TARASOFF v. REGENTS
Duty to Warn BeginsIn Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (1976) 17Cal.3rd 425, Prosenjit Poddar was a voluntary outpatient at CowellMemorial Hospital. Mr. Poddar told his therapist, Dr. LawrenceMoore, that he wanted to kill a girl who was readily identifiable asTatiana Tarasoff. Dr. Moore requested campus police to detain Mr.Poddar and expressed the view that Mr. Poddar had paranoidschizophrenia. Dr. Moore suggested that he be civilly committed.Dr. Moore sent a letter to the police department requesting theirhelp in getting Mr. Poddar committed. The police interviewed Mr.Poddar and determined he was not a risk. Subsequently, Mr. Poddarstopped seeing Dr. Moore and Poddar then murdered Tatiana. Nowarning was ever given to the family. The California Supreme Courtcreated a duty to warn and protect from a patient’s violent behaviorthat included warning the potential victim of the threat.
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LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT
TARASOFF CASE
1. Many people do not realize that there actually was acommunication by Dr. Moore to the police seeking theirassistance in committing Mr. Poddar, although there wasnone to the family.
2. After the police had interrogated him, Poddar actuallymoved in with Tatiana’s brother to be able to carry out hisplot.
3. After the police department decided not to do anything,the Director of the Department of Psychiatry requestedthe letter to the police be returned. He then directed thatall copies of the letter and the notes of Dr. Moore bedestroyed. (17 Cal.3d 433)
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JABLONSKI by PAHLS v. UNITED STATES
(1983) 712 F.2d 391
Phillip Jablonski, a veteran with a history of violence, was in a relationship
with Melinda Kimball. They had a daughter, Meghan Jablonski. Phillip
Jablonski attempted to rape his mother-in-law, Isabel Pahls, leading to
police involvement. Mr. Jablonski volunteered to undergo a psych
examination at the Loma Linda V.A. hospital in California. Police spoke
with Dr. Berman, the head of psychiatric services and disclosed
Jablonski’s criminal record, recent assault on Ms. Pahls, and expressed the
opinion he needed to be treated on an inpatient basis. This information
was not communicated to Dr. Kopiloff, the V.A. doctor who actually
interviewed Phillip Jablonski. In the interview, Dr. Kopiloff learned that
Jablonski had served a five year prison term for raping his wife and had
recently attempted to rape Ms. Pahls. Dr. Kopiloff concluded there was
no basis for involuntary hospitalization.
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JABLONSKI by PAHLS v. UNITED STATES,
Continued…
Subsequently, Ms. Kimball expressed to Dr. Kopiloff that she was
concerned. Dr. Kopiloff suggested that she leave Mr. Jablonski while he
was being evaluated. No attempt was made to get Jablonski’s prior
medical records from the V.A. in El Paso, which would have shown that
he was extremely dangerous and that “the possibility of future violent
behavior was a distinct probability.” After Mr. Jablonski killed Ms.
Kimball, Ms. Pahls brought the action on behalf of their minor child. The
case was tried before a District Court Judge who ruled in favor of
Plaintiff. On appeal, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal sustained the trial
court. The District Judge stated in an opinion that had the prior medical
records been obtained, it would have prevented the murder. The Ninth
Circuit stated that the case was governed by Tarasoff and focused on the
failure to obtain the prior V.A. records.
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HEDLUND v. SUPERIOR COURT
(1983) 34 Cal.3d 695
Plaintiff, LaNita Wilson and her boyfriend Stephen Wilson were intreatment with two psychologists. LaNita alleged that Stephenexpressed to the psychologists the desire to commit bodily injury onher (defendants denied that). Stephen subsequently attacked LaNitaand aimed a shotgun at her minor child, Darryl. LaNita threwherself in front of the shotgun and was severely injured protectingDarryl. Stephen killed himself and suit was filed on behalf ofLaNita and Darryl. The defense attempted to argue that the duty towarn was an ordinary negligence duty, not professional negligenceand that no duty was owed to the minor son Darryl. The CaliforniaSupreme Court held that a claim that a duty to warn was breachedwas a professional negligence claim and expanded the duty to thosein the zone of danger of the identified victim.
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California Civil Code § 43.92 enacted a provision that there would
be no monetary liability and no cause of action against a
psychotherapist for failing to warn or protect of a patient’s violent
behavior “except where the patient has communicated to the
psychotherapist a serious threat of physical violence against a
reasonably identifiable victim or victims.” In such circumstances,
the duty is discharged by communicating the threat to the victim
and to a law enforcement agency.
CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE § 43.92
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Los Angeles Police Department Officer Geno Colello was injured in the line ofduty and received psychotherapy from Dr. Goldstein. Mr. Colello was havingrelationship issues with his long-standing girlfriend who had begun dating KeithEwing. Although Geno had depression, he did not express any threat to harmanyone to Dr. Goldstein. Geno was admitted to Northridge Hospital forassessment of his depression. Geno was released from the hospital after about12 hours. He then got another officer’s weapon and killed Keith Ewing andhimself. Geno’s father, ex-Los Angeles Police Department officer, asserted thathe had told Dr. Goldstein and the Northridge staff that Geno had threatened tokill his girlfriend’s new boyfriend. The defendants denied being told that. Thetrial court granted summary judgment in favor of Dr. Goldstein due to therebeing no threat communicated to him by Geno. The Court of Appeal concludedthat there was a question of fact and that a family member could be the conduitof a threat from a patient that was not directly expressed to a therapist. TheCourt of Appeal held that the psychotherapist would still have to determine ifthe threat was serious, based on the third party information. The issue of how atherapist would be able to assess the reliability of the information from a sourcehe or she previously had no contact with.
EWING v. GOLDSTEIN
(2004) 120 Cal.App.4th 807
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STATES HAVING MANDATORY
DUTY TO WARN
ALABAMA, ARIZONA, CALIFORNIA, IDAHO,
INDIANA, IOWA, KENTUCKY, LOUISIANA,
MARYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN,
MINNISOTA, MISSOURI, MONTANA, NEBRASKA,
NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK,
PENNSYLVANIA, TENNESSEE, UTAH, VERMONT,
VIRGINA, WASHINGTON, WISCONSIN
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STATES ALLOWING BUT NOT
MANDATING A WARNING TO
PROTECT THIRD PARTIES
CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, FLORIDA,
GEORGIA, HAWAII, ILLINOIS, KANSAS,
MISSISSIPPI, NEW MEXICO, OKLAHOMA,
OREGON, RHODE ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA,
SOUTH DAKOTA, TEXAS,
WASHINGTON D.C., WEST VIRGINA, AND
WYOMING
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STATES WITH
NO DUTY TO WARN
MAINE, NEVADA, NORTH CAROLINA, AND
NORTH DAKOTA
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TYPES OF LAWSUITS RELATED
TO DUTY TO WARN1. Suit by victims or families of victims of patient (Tarasoff, Hedlund,
Jablonski)
2. Suit by the patient claiming warning was improper and defamatory.Generally not successful because of statutes like California Civil Code§43.92 and or privileges.
3. The rarest type is suit by patient who acted out violently claiming that thedefendant mental health professional is responsible for the patient’s violentacts. Williamson v. Liptzin 539 S.E. 2nd 313 (N.C. 2000). Jury verdict infavor of a patient who shot and killed two people against his psychiatrist;reversed on appeal due to lack of foreseeability. Plaintiff was a collegestudent treated at the university clinic two periods of time. No threat everwas ever communicated to psychologist who only saw the patient six times.Plaintiff cooperated with therapy and took medications as prescribed. Thelast session was May 1994. The shooting was January 1995. A key claim wasDr. Liptzin did not review full records of first course of treatment.
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NOTABLE CASES OUTSIDE
CALIFORNIA
Brady v. Hopper, (1985) 10 Cir. 751 F2d 329. Suit by cabinet
member Jim Brady and two police officers serious injured by John
Hinkley during assassination attempt of Ronald Reagan. The
Court of Appeal invokes Tarasoff and concludes no basis for a
claim because no threats were made by Hinkley to his therapist,
Dr. Hopper. The hospital sought involuntary commitment but
judge denied it and ordered outpatient psychiatric counseling.
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FOLLOWING ISLA VISA SHOOTING
CALIFORNIA ENACTS WELFARE AND
INSTITUTIONS CODE § 8100
Welfare and Institutions Code § 8100 which deprives a
patient who is a subject of a warning by a
psychotherapist of an ability to own firearms for five
years.
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DIFFERING DECISIONS ON WHETHER THERE IS A
DUTY TO WARN OF A PATIENT’S INTENTION TO DRIVE
RECKLESSLY, ALTHOUGH PSYCHIATRIST MAY HAVE
DUTY TO WARN PATIENT BASED
ON MEDICATIONS PRESCRIBED
Cases finding no duty:
1. Jarmie v. Strong Troncale (2012) 306 Conn. 578.
2. Matter of Estate of Votteler (1982) 327 N.W. 2nd 759.
While in therapy, patient drives car over plaintiff,
however, no evidence therapist was aware of patient’s
prior violent acts or threats against victim.
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