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24. The number of psychiatrists carrying malpractice insurance also tripled from 3,000 to 9,000 between 1972 and 1982. More patients suing their psychiatrists. ABA Journal 1982 Nov;68:1363. Much of the change was likely a result of the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425, 551 P.2d 334, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14 (Cal. 1976).

25. See note 7, Walsh 1987. The causes of this dramatic increase are not entirely clear. Although the impact of high-profile lawsuits such as Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California and Osheroff v. Chestnut Lodge likely played a role, the most probable culprit is a rapid rise in both suicide awareness and theories of suicide predictability during the 1980s. Improved reporting methods and increased disclosure might also play a role in explaining this data.

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58. An exception to this rule might be compensation for victims of attempted suicide who are injured in the process. There are likely a very small set of successful litigations in this field, but the mechanism for dealing with such cases is beyond the scope of this article.

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