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Psychiatric Malpractice in the 1980s: A Look at Some Areas of Concern

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2021

Sheila Taub
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Extract

Lawsuits alleging malpractice in psychiatric diagnosis or treatment, once rather rare, appear to be growing in number. The low incidence of such claims in the past has been attributed to the difficulty of proving the applicable standard of care and a causal relationship between the breach of the standard of care and the alleged injury, the patient's reluctance to publicize his psychiatric history, the patient's inability either to formulate cleat expectations for the results of treatment or to assess the results, and the belief that the success of psychotherapy depends to a great extent on the cooperation of the patient.

Nonetheless, the number of claims against psychiatrists is rising, in part because of a more open attitude about psychiatric treatment coupled with increased expectations of its efficacy. Other factors which may be contributing to this trend are the emphasis on mental patients rights in recent court decisions and the popular literature, the emergence of legal doctrines finding new legal duties arising out of the therapist-patient relationship, and the publication of several sizable verdicts in suits based on psychiatric malpractice.

Type
Article
Information
Law, Medicine and Healthcare , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , June 1983 , pp. 97 - 135
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 1983

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