Malpractice and Liability in Psychiatry

Peter Ash, MD, DLFAPAEmory UniversityPsychiatry and Law ServicesAtlanta, Georgia USAPeter Ash, MD, DLFAPA, is a forensic child and adolescent psychiatrist and professor of psychiatry at Emory University where he directs the forensic psychiatry service and the forensic psychiatry fellowship. He is a past president of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, the Georgia Psychiatric Physicians Association, and the Georgia Council for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  Further biographical information is available online at: http://jaapl.org/content/39/1/12Richard L. Frierson, MD, DFAPAAlexander G. Donald Professor of PsychiatryVice Chair for Education and Director, Forensic Psychiatry FellowshipDepartment of Neuropsychiatry andBehavioral ScienceUniversity of South Carolina School of MedicineColumbia, South Carolina,USARichard L. Frierson, M.D, DFAPA, is the Alexander G. Donald Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. He is a Past President of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. He is recipient of the Seymour Pollack Award for distinguished lifetime contributions to the teaching and educational functions of forensic psychiatry.  He has served on committees for Recertification in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Further biographical information is available online at: http://jaapl.org/content/47/1/7Susan Hatters Friedman, MD, DFAPACase Western Reserve University Forensic PsychiatryCleveland, Ohio USASusan Hatters Friedman, MD, DFAPA, serves as the inaugural Phillip J. Resnick Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Friedman serves as President of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL), and has served as Chair of the Law and Psychiatry committee at the Group for Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP). Dr. Friedman served as Editor of the GAP book entitled Family Murder: Pathologies of Love and Hate, for which she and GAP were awarded the 2020 Manfred Guttmacher Award. Dr. Friedman also serves as the Deputy Editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

• Section I: Malpractice Law.- Principles of Malpractice Law in Psychiatry.- History of Malpractice.- Liability of the Acts of Others.- Professional Liability Insurance.- Section II: Litigation.- Risk Management after an Adverse Event.- The Litigation Process.- Do's and Dont's if You Are Sued.- The Plaintiff Attorney's Perspective.- The Defense Attorney's Perspective.- Expert Witness.- The Defendant Psychiatrist as Witness.- The Stress of Being Sued.- Section III: Malpractice Allegations.- Suicide.- Patient Violence.- Boundary Violations.- Breach of Confidentiality.- Negligent Psychopharmacology.- Abandonment and Unnecessary Commitment.- Negligent Psychotherapy.- Section VI: Practice Areas.- Inpatient General Psychiatry.- Outpatient General Psychiatry.- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.- Consult Liaison Psychiatry.- Emergency Room Psychiatry.- Reproductive Psychiatry.- Addition Psychiatry.- Geriatric Psychiatry.- Correctional Psychiatry.- Forensic Psychiatry.- Psychiatric Research.- Section V: Special Topics.- Telepsychiatry.- Malpractice and the Internet.- Patients and Guns.- Practicing During a Pandemic or Disaster.- Section VI: Complaints.- Medical Board Complaints.- Ethics Complaints.- Granting Agencies.- Negative Reviews on the Internet.- Impaired Psychiatrists.