Every physician, including psychiatrists, has an implied duty of care for every one of their patients. A psychiatrist is negligent if they fail to meet the standard of care and may be liable for injuries in a psychiatric malpractice lawsuit.
If you or your loved one suffered injuries due to a negligent psychiatrist, here’s what you need to know to file a psychiatric malpractice lawsuit.
Our team of accident & injury lawyers at Disparti Law Group are experts in these cases. Call (312) 600-6000 now for a FREE review of your case.
In this Article:
- What is Psychiatric Malpractice?
- How to Prove Psychiatric Negligence
- Common Injuries Caused by Medical Negligence
- 5 Examples of Psychiatric Malpractice
- How Long Do I Have to File a Psychiatric Malpractice Lawsuit
- A Chicago Psychiatric Malpractice Lawyer Can Help
- Should You File a Psychiatric Malpractice Case?
What is Psychiatric Malpractice?
Psychiatric malpractice occurs when a mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist or therapist, fails to meet the accepted standard of care, resulting in harm to the patient.
This could involve misdiagnosing a condition, breaching patient confidentiality, prescribing the wrong medication, or engaging in inappropriate relationships with patients.
Psychiatric medical malpractice cases are handled in civil courts which is why it’s best to have a skilled attorney in your corner should you choose to pursue a civil suit.
How to Prove Psychiatric Negligence
In a psychiatric malpractice case, the burden is on the patient-plaintiff to prove medical negligence. Here’s what you need to prove that your psychiatrist was negligent in your or your loved one’s care.
Duty of Care
A psychiatrist has a legal duty to provide a reasonable standard of care to their patients. This duty arises when a formal doctor-patient relationship is established.
Psychiatrists must act in the best interest of the patient and adhere to accepted medical standards. Without this relationship, no claim for malpractice can be pursued.
Breached Duty of Care
Once a duty of care is established, the next step is to prove the psychiatrist breached that duty. Professional medical organizations like the American Psychiatric Association (APA) have practice guidelines that define what constitutes appropriate psychiatric care.
These guidelines allow for some clinical flexibility but a significant departure from standard practice can be negligence.
Damages
For a malpractice claim to be valid, the patient must have been harmed by the psychiatrist’s actions or omissions. This harm can be physical, like an adverse drug reaction or self-harm, or emotional, like increased anxiety, depression, or memory loss.
Damages available in psychiatric malpractice cases can include medical bills, lost wages, and emotional suffering. Normally, punitive damages are not pursued in psychiatric medical malpractice cases except in extreme cases such as sexual assault.
Direct Causation
Direct causation, also known as “proximate cause” is the most arduous element to prove in these cases as the patient must show the psychiatrist’s negligence caused the harm. This can be especially hard in cases involving complex mental health conditions where multiple factors contribute to a patient’s decline.
For example, in suicide cases, plaintiffs must prove the psychiatrist’s negligence was the direct cause of the patient’s death despite other possible influences like personal life stressors or pre-existing conditions.
Common Injuries Caused by Psychiatric Negligence
A negligent psychiatrist or therapist can wreak havoc in the lives of their patients. While common injuries caused by psychiatric negligence are often invisible, they are very real. They include:
- worsening mental and physical health
- increased risk of suicide and self-harm
- adverse medication reactions
- addiction and dependency
- financial and occupational disruptions
- physical injuries from restraints
- memory loss and cognitive impairment
5 Examples of Psychiatric Malpractice
Here are a few examples of psychiatric malpractice to help spot any wrongdoing in your care:
1. Misdiagnosis Leading to Wrongful Commitment
A psychiatrist misdiagnosed a patient with schizophrenia after incomplete evaluations and kept them in a psychiatric hospital for over a year. Later, the patient proved they had a treatable mood disorder, not schizophrenia, and sued for emotional distress, lost wages, and medication side effects.
2. Failure to Prevent Suicide
A psychiatrist didn’t properly assess and monitor a patient with severe depression who had already expressed suicidal thoughts. Despite clear warning signs, the doctor reduced the patient’s medication and didn’t arrange for close supervision.
The patient died by suicide and the family sued for medical malpractice claiming proper intervention could have prevented the death.
3. Sexual Misconduct with a Patient
A psychiatrist had a sexual relationship with a vulnerable patient with PTSD. The psychiatrist convinced the patient the relationship was part of their “healing process.” When the patient later experienced severe emotional distress and had to be hospitalized, they sued for psychiatric malpractice and won a big settlement.
4. Overprescription of Benzodiazepines Leading to Addiction
A psychiatrist overprescribed high doses of benzodiazepines to a patient without monitoring and the patient became addicted and suffered severe withdrawal symptoms and cognitive impairment. The patient sued claiming the psychiatrist’s negligence in overprescribing and not recognizing signs of dependency caused long-term harm.
5. Failure to Monitor Dangerous Side Effects
A psychiatrist prescribed Clozapine an antipsychotic with a known risk of severe blood disorders without doing the required blood tests. The patient developed agranulocytosis a life-threatening condition that went undetected for months. The patient suffered permanent damage and won a malpractice lawsuit due to negligent monitoring.
How Long Do I Have to File a Psychiatric Malpractice Lawsuit
The statute of limitations, in other words, the time you have to file a malpractice lawsuit may differ across states. In Illinois, you have up to two years from the date of injury.
Don’t be fooled — two years is not a lot of time, especially if you or your loved one will likely be healing from their injuries during this time. However, to preserve vital evidence, the claim must be filed as soon as possible.
A Chicago Psychiatric Malpractice Lawyer Can Help
By contacting our team of Chicago psychiatric malpractice lawyers, you can hold all negligent parties accountable and receive the compensation you need to be made whole and find a path forward.
An attorney can help gather evidence, speak to other parties, contact expert witnesses, negotiate with malpractice insurance companies, and fight on your behalf should your case go to court.
At Disparti Law Group, we do everything possible to get our clients every penny they deserve. We know how to negotiate, and we know how to win.
Should You File a Psychiatric Malpractice Case?
Choosing to file a psychiatric malpractice lawsuit is a big decision. Patients should know that the process can be mentally and emotionally tasking.
One study found that the mean time to close a malpractice claim was 19 months. On average, the time required to close non-litigated claims, which are settled outside of court, is less than litigated claims that go through a trial.
With the right legal representation, you can have the support you need to not only face the challenges in the case but to win.
Don’t go it alone. Contact us today by calling (312) 600-6000 or fill out a form and we will contact you for a FREE case review. Find out why thousands say… Larry wins!
