Death of the suicide law: A changing standard of liability for clinicians

IF 1.5 4区 医学 Q2 MEDICINE, LEGAL Journal of forensic sciences Pub Date : 2024-05-13 DOI:10.1111/1556-4029.15530
Shariful A. Syed MD, Brigham Dixson MBA, JD, Rodrigo Fontenele MD, Spencer Eth MD, Judith Regan MD, MBA, JD
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Abstract

High rates of suicide continue to plague the modern world, with clinicians, researchers, and policymakers working urgently to ameliorate what has been recognized as a worldwide public health crisis. Under American Law, individuals- including health care providers, could generally not be held liable for causing the suicide of another person. This article presents a review of suicide law in the United States in the context of a recent civil case in which a physician with expertise in mental health was sued for the death of an ex-partner who committed suicide in his home. Historical events and landmark legal cases spanning the 15th century to now are examined and presented as a narrative review to inform society and mental health clinicians a-like towards interpreting the changing medical-legal landscape. As modern advances in science continue to discern the critical biopsychosocial factors that contribute to the act of suicide, there is an inevitably growing concern that suicide may no longer be an incomprehensible nor irrational event as has been assumed for centuries. Thus, it may be considered that individual with expertise and qualification to treat a group of individuals at higher risk of suicide (severe mental illness) may be subject to a different standard than the average individual. This article seeks to present a complex matter where no simple or broad-sweeping conclusions can yet be drawn, however remains a critically important matter for mental health clinicians.

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自杀法的死亡:临床医生责任标准的变化。
高自杀率继续困扰着现代世界,临床医生、研究人员和政策制定者都在紧急致力于改善这一已被公认为世界性公共健康危机的问题。根据美国法律,个人(包括医疗服务提供者)一般不承担导致他人自杀的责任。在最近的一起民事案件中,一名具有精神健康专业知识的医生因其前伴侣在家中自杀身亡而被起诉,本文以这起案件为背景,对美国的自杀法进行了回顾。该书对从 15 世纪至今的历史事件和具有里程碑意义的法律案例进行了研究,并以叙述性回顾的方式向社会和心理健康临床医生提供了解读不断变化的医疗法律环境的信息。随着现代科学的进步,人们不断发现导致自杀行为的关键生物心理社会因素,人们不可避免地越来越担心,自杀可能不再像几个世纪以来人们假定的那样是不可理解或非理性的事件。因此,我们可以认为,在治疗自杀风险较高的人群(严重精神病患者)时,具有专业知识和资格的个人可能需要遵守与普通人不同的标准。本文试图阐述一个复杂的问题,在这个问题上还不能得出简单或一概而论的结论,但对于心理健康临床医生来说,这仍然是一个极其重要的问题。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Journal of forensic sciences
Journal of forensic sciences 医学-医学:法
CiteScore
4.00
自引率
12.50%
发文量
215
审稿时长
2 months
期刊介绍: The Journal of Forensic Sciences (JFS) is the official publication of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS). It is devoted to the publication of original investigations, observations, scholarly inquiries and reviews in various branches of the forensic sciences. These include anthropology, criminalistics, digital and multimedia sciences, engineering and applied sciences, pathology/biology, psychiatry and behavioral science, jurisprudence, odontology, questioned documents, and toxicology. Similar submissions dealing with forensic aspects of other sciences and the social sciences are also accepted, as are submissions dealing with scientifically sound emerging science disciplines. The content and/or views expressed in the JFS are not necessarily those of the AAFS, the JFS Editorial Board, the organizations with which authors are affiliated, or the publisher of JFS. All manuscript submissions are double-blind peer-reviewed.
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