Welcome to the Nexus of Ethics, Psychology, Morality, Philosophy and Health Care

Welcome to the nexus of ethics, psychology, morality, technology, health care, and philosophy
Showing posts with label Duty to Non-Patients. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Duty to Non-Patients. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Colo. man plotted to kill children, president

By 9News
Originally published November 14, 2012


9Wants to Know has learned a Colorado man is in federal custody after plotting to kill President Barack Obama and kill children on Halloween night in Westminster.

Sources tell 9Wants to Know Mitchell Kusick's plan involved stealing a family member's shotgun and using it to shoot children on Halloween and assassinate the president in Colorado.

Officials do not know when he wanted to kill the president.

The restraining order filed in Jefferson county court says Kusick "stole a shotgun from his aunt's house, hid the weapon, attempted to purchase ammunition for the gun" and then told his therapist about his plan.




The entire story is here.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Third-party cases pose liability risks to doctors

By Alicia Gallgos
amdnews.com staff

The Utah Supreme Court is reviewing whether the children of a patient can sue their father's physician for medication mismanagement after the patient shot his wife to death. In a similar case, the Supreme Court of Georgia has ruled that a psychiatrist can be sued for medication negligence after a patient fatally attacked his mother.

The cases raise concerns about doctors' potential liability for criminal actions committed by their patients and what duty, if any, physicians owe to nonpatients. Experts say the cases remind doctors to take note of circumstances that could increase their liability risk to third parties.

In the Georgia case, the father of Victor Bruscato filed a lawsuit on behalf of Victor against psychiatrist Derek O'Brien, MD. He alleged that the doctor's discontinuation of Bruscato's two antipsychotic medications aggravated his son's violent tendencies. After the drugs were stopped, Bruscato, a mentally ill patient with a history of violence, stabbed his mother to death.

Dr. O'Brien had ordered two of Bruscato's medications stopped for six weeks to rule out the possibility that Bruscato was developing neuroleptic malignancy syndrome, according to court documents. A trial court dismissed the case in favor of Dr. O'Brien, ruling that public policy does not allow the Bruscatos to benefit from any wrongdoing, namely the killing of Lillian Bruscato. The appeals court reversed the decision.

In its Sept. 12 opinion, the Supreme Court affirmed, allowing the lawsuit to proceed. Though public policy prevents profiting from a wrongdoing in court, an exception exists if a mentally ill patient isn't aware of what he is doing, the court said. Bruscato was never found guilty of a crime; instead, he was ruled incompetent to stand trial and committed to a state mental hospital.

The rest of the story can be found here.