In psychiatric medicine, suicide prevention measures are amongst the most important issues. Suicide is a shocking event for a psychiatrist, and any potential disputes that may arise afterwards is a problem one will want to avoid.
The proportion of suicide related suits in medical accident trials is fairly small. Even more so, those involving outpatient care were still fewer when compared to that of hospitalization, and many of those trials ended in a non-culpable judgment in favor of the medical side. However, recently there has been an increasing number of cases creating a precedent of culpability, and doctors in psychiatric clinics have become very concerned about suicide litigation.
While there have been few cases of outpatient care that have lead to litigation, from the survey it is clear that after a suicide, demands from the family for an explanation are common. It has become clear, that from now on, while the explanation to the family after a suicide is important, the explanation beforehand to the family about the possibility of a suicide is even more important.
<Author's abstract>
Suicide Prevention Measures at Psychiatric Clinics: Dispute Prevention
Fujimi Mental Clinic
Psychiatria et Neurologia Japonica
121: 865-872, 2019
<Keywords:suicide, psychiatric clinic, suicide prevention, suicide suit>