Liability and Malpractice in Relation to Suicide (IN: Suicide Intervention by Nurses, ed. by M. Miller)

In this chapter, the author reviews the unfavorable decisions of reported malpractice cases. These cases fall into 8 categories: 1) the hospital knew or should have known the risk of suicide, 2) lack of vigilance, 3) violation of hospital rules, 4) patient moved out of supervised area, 5) patient ran away, 6) lack of, or failure to use, special facilities, 7) contributory negligence, & 8) calculated risk. Examples for each category are given. (CM)