Year: 2007 Source: Directions in Psychiatry, v.27, no.13, (September 2007), p.159-172 SIEC No: 20080024

Suicide accounts for 30,000 deaths each year in the United States. The fear of liability after the death of a patient is a constant concern for mental health professionals who treats high-risk patients. This lesson introduces the risks associated with malpractice liability for suicidal patients, discusses the legal elements of these cases, and concludes with a discussion of risk management procedures that have been shown to limit clinician malpractice liability.