Emotionally troubled patients require special treatment and increased attention from healthcare providers responsible for their care in institutional settings. When hospital staff fail to follow proper procedures, conduct regular checks, or release someone prematurely, outpatient and inpatient suicide can occur as a result. The medical malpractice lawyers at The Law Offices of Wade E. Byrd immediately investigates hospital records and patient charts, interviews witnesses, reviews orderly logs, and collects evidence of negligence in cases outpatient and inpatient suicide. When unstable patients are left unattended or prescribed powerful, psychotropic drugs without proper preparation or follow-up, psychiatrists and hospitals can be held legally liable for the deaths of their patients.
We have the medical experts and investigative resources necessary to get to the bottom of case and discover the truth. Put our 24 years of experience to work for you – contact psychiatric medical malpractice attorneys at the Law Offices of Wade E. Byrd today. Located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, we represent clients throughout Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, and South Carolina.
When Negligence Leads to Outpatient or Inpatient Suicide
The medical malpractice attorneys at the Law Offices of Wade E. Byrd represent clients involving the following kinds of negligence in outpatient and inpatient suicide cases:
- negligent suicide watch
- misdiagnosed mental illness
- failure to remove patient’s shoe strings or belt
- prescribed contraindicated, harmful psychotropic drugs
- physical isolation in a room or ward intended for other kinds of patients
Proving Negligence
Protocols and treatment procedures exist in regard to suicidal and emotionally troubled patients. Unfortunately, when someone suffering from mental illness commits suicide, family members may believe it was inevitable and little could have been done to change what happened.
In our 24 years of experience, we’ve seen how mistakes by doctors, nurses, and hospital staff can exacerbate suicidal feelings and thoughts on the part of certain patients. Consulting with psychiatric malpractice experts and investigators, we meticulously review every detail of a patient’s treatment and therapy to identify neglected warning signs, physician incompetence, and violations of hospital procedure.
Uncovering Facts and Providing Answers for Families
It’s natural for survivors to wonder why their loved one committed suicide. Often, family members blame themselves without realizing that a dangerous drug, hospital failure, or harmful therapeutic technique caused a patient to spiral downward in the first place, leading to further problems and feelings of hopelessness.
When physician negligence is involved, we want family members to understand they are not to blame for what happened. Recovering damages and providing answers allows our clients to begin the healing process with facts instead of speculation and uncertainty.
For more information regarding our practice and what we can do for you, contact North Carolina medical malpractice attorneys at the Law Offices of Wade E. Byrd today.
Located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, we represent clients throughout the South, including Tidewater, Virginia; Atlanta, Georgia; Charleston, Columbia and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee, West Virginia and Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
