Citation

Roberts AR, Jennings T. Brief Treat. Crisis Interv. 2005; 5(3): 251-260.

Affiliation

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Lucy Stone Hall, B-261, Piscataway, NJ 08854. (prof.albertroberts@comcast.net)

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/brief-treatment/mhi025

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article begins with a legal case exemplar demonstrating how relatively quickly suicide by hanging took place when a medical social worker and an attending physician failed to conduct an adequate suicide risk assessment. The next section examines the lawsuit against the social worker and the physician, the expert testimony, and the outcome of the jury trial. The second half of this article identifies and discusses the importance of utilizing evidence-based suicide assessment protocols, a suicide ideation flowchart, and the 7-stage crisis intervention protocol (Roberts and Yeager, 2005). The authors underscore the importance of understanding proximate cause, shared responsibility, and legal liability issues among all members of hospital-based mental health teams.