A psychiatrist can be sued for medical malpractice just like any other health care professional. However, proving the wrongdoing of the psychiatrist may be a little more difficult.
The psychiatrist may make mistakes on diagnosing patients, prescribe the wrong medications or fail to report a suicide threat made by a patient as well as a variety of other errors that could occur. The reason why suing a psychiatrist may be more difficult is that many of the damages may be psychological and harder to evaluate in a courtroom.
Several years ago the New York Supreme Court made a decision in a case regarding a patient that committed suicide:
When a psychiatrist chooses a course of treatment, within a range of medically accepted choices, for a patient after a proper examination and evaluation, the doctrine of professional medical judgment will insulate such psychiatrist from liability.
The court went on to note that “deviation from accepted practice can be difficult to delineate, particularly in cases involving psychiatric treatment.”
