While most medical malpractice litigation involves damages caused by a doctor's failure to identify or treat a physical condition, psychiatrists can also be held liable when their professional errors result in harm to the patient or someone else.
At Gray, Ritter & Graham, P.C., our attorneys build upon a tradition of excellent client service in complex personal injury and wrongful death cases that date back to the 1940s. We know how to apply in psychiatric malpractice cases the principles of case investigation, collaboration with experts and client service that have earned us national recognition. Contact us in St. Louis for a free consultation about your case.
St. Louis Medical Malpractice Lawyers for Psychiatric Errors
We advise individuals and families in cases where errors of psychiatric diagnosis, treatment or medication led to any of the following consequences:
- Suicide or attempted suicide with disabling injuries
- Homicide, assault or sexual assault
- Wandering off by nursing home patients or assisted-living center residents
- Self-destructive behavior by a person in jail or police custody
Just as in other forms of medical malpractice litigation, psychiatric professional or facility neglect requires more than identifying a mistaken diagnosis or ineffective treatment strategy. It also requires proof, usually through expert testimony, that the psychiatric error was one that reasonably careful professionals in the field would have known not to make.
Psychiatric malpractice cases often relate to ignoring a patient's obviously delusional statements, complaints of emotional disturbance, or apparent determination to harm him or herself or others. Negligence might also be the prescription of medications harmful to the patient. Malpractice can also be proved from the circumstances of a patient's release from supervised care.
To learn more about our approach to client service in psychiatric malpractice cases in Missouri, contact Gray, Ritter & Graham in St. Louis.
