Assessing dangerousness and responding appropriately: Hedlund expands the clinician's liability established by Tarasoff.
The complexities of the Tarasoff and Hedlund cases extended the liability of clinicians in situations in which patients communicate threats of harm to third parties. Because of these and other rulings, clinicians need to follow guidelines for staged responses to such threats and to document and substantiate their decisions.
D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D005260:Female; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008318:Malpractice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000592:standards; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States; D014754:Violence