This book comprehensively educates psychiatrists about malpractice and other liability. It is written to also specifically assist psychiatrists who are sued or are involved in other complaints. The first two sections discuss malpractice law and the litigation process; the litigation section mainly addresses some of the more emotionally charged issues, including do’s and don’ts, how an attorney will be looking at the case, the defendant doctor’s testifying at deposition and trial, and the stress of being sued. The subsequent three sections address specific topics that give rise to liability, with each section taking a different perspective such as risks in particular clinical, by practice site, and special issues, including practice in special situations such as the current pandemic. The final section discusses other forms of liability, such as complaints to medical boards or professional association ethics committees. An exceptional work, Malpractice and Liability in Psychiatry, functions as both a go-to handbook and all-encompassing read on the aforementioned topics.

This comprehensive guide covers the standards of care in psychiatry, The psychiatrist-patient relationship, informed consent, And The duties owed the patient. Using case analysis, The author details the actions that constitute a breach of the standards of care and why parameters on these standards have proven hard to establish.

Once upon a time only forensic psychiatrists had much to do with law and the legal system. Now, hardly a day passes in the life of a clinician without some significant encounter with the interface between the law and the practice of psychiatry. That interface extends all the way from the general regulation of clinical practice to the specifics of clinical man agement of individual patients. It includes, like the chapters of this book, such important topics as informed consent, right to treatment, privilege and confidentiality, patients' rights, competency, psychiatric testimony, malpractice, and liability. Dr. Halleck is one of the professions' most distinguished thinkers and authors in the field of psychiatry and law, and is this year's recipient of the coveted Isaac Ray Award of the American Psychiatric Association. Having spent his entire academic and professional life deeply involved in the clinical practice of psychiatry, he is particularly well suited to understand and respond to the clinician's need for a clear and concise elucidation of those areas of psychiatry and law which are involved in the daily work of psychiatrists and all mental health professionals.

What are the facts about psychiatric malpractice? Is it increasing? If so, how rapidly? What areas of psychiatric practice pose higher risks of legal liability? The anxieties and uncertainties created by the increased threat of being sued for malpractice can interfere with the psychiatrist's provision of good clinical care. Through a general overview -- as well as a discussion of specific legal cases -- this volume presents the major malpractice traps encountered in everyday psychiatric practice.