- Jablonski by Pahls v. United States
Jablonski by Pahls v. United States, 712 F.2d 391 (9th Cir. 1983) is a landmark case in which the
9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that amental health professional 'sduty to predict dangerousness includes consulting a patient's prior records, and that theirduty to protect includes theinvoluntary commitment of a dangerous individual; simply warning the foreseeable victim is insufficient.Facts
Mr. Jablonski was dating Ms. Kimball, but had threatened to kill her and her mother (Ms. Pahls). After one incident that culminated in a threat towards her mother, she took him to the
Loma Linda VA Hospital , where the doctor conducted a risk assessment, but did not consult his prior records; which documented a history of violent behavior. Based on this incomplete data, he determined, erroneously, that Jablonski was not a danger to himself or others, and released him. He warned Ms. Kimball to leave Jablonski, but did not warn her of his potential for violence. When he was released, he killed her. [cite web
url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/psylawseminar/Tarasoff.Greene.htm
title=Psychiatrist Duties: Tarasoff
accessdate=2008-07-20
work=
author=John M. Greene, M.D.
publisher=Stanford University Department of Psychiatry
date=August 3, 2006]Ruling
The court ruled that the doctor's failure to secure the patient's previous records constituted negligence, as the information in his files would have affected the risk assessment and thus the actions taken to protect the foreseeable victim. [cite web
url=http://www.jaapl.org/cgi/content/full/34/3/338
title=Warning a Potential Victim of a Person's Dangerousness: Clinician's Duty or Victim's Right?
accessdate=2008-07-20
work=
publisher=Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
date=2006]Legacy
The legal precedent set by this case extends the duty of the mental health professional to secure previous records when conducting a risk assessment, and the duty to protect to include the involuntary hospitalization of a dangerous individual.
ee also
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Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California References
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