Kansas and Missouri Psychiatric Malpractice Attorneys

Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyers Helping Families Pursue Compensation Due To Psychiatric Malpractice

If you have a loved one who is mentally ill or going through a personal crisis, of course you want to help them and get them the kind of professional help that the situation demands. It is for these trying times in our lives that we have mental health facilities, hospitals, doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health workers. We rely on these professionals to help our loved ones during their lowest moments deal with their problems and emotions with prompt crisis intervention, an intensive treatment plan and careful monitoring.

The truth is that we have a tremendous amount of respect for the brilliant, caring people that make up the psychiatric community. Their jobs are difficult. Anyone who has been around severe depression or schizophrenia understand how difficult that can be. They are oftentimes sorely underpaid. And because they are dealing with severe mental illness and families that mmay be so exhausted or anxious, the job is sometimes thankless. It may not be surprising, but for every case we accept, we listen to dozens that simply do not constitute psychiatric malpractice. The last thing we want to do is file a law suit against a doctor or hospital when they are not at fault…when their care does not fall below the standard of care (even if it could have been better) or when we are not going to prevail in court. The worst thing we can do for our clients is file a law suit when there is not liability…and when there are not significant damages or injury.

Unfortunately, sometimes tragedy is predictable and occurs nevertheless when health care providers fail to take minimum precautions to prevent the tragedy. What makes these suicides all the more painful is that you knew your loved one was determined to take his life and you trusted the psychiatrist and the hospital to do the one thing they were paid to do…protect your loved one from himself. At the Law Offices of N. Trey Pettlon, we have qualified wrongful death attorneys who can examine your case to determine whether there was a breach of duty and care. We can help hold these parties responsible and accountable if there has been a failure to properly diagnose and monitor a suicidal patient.

Our lead attorney, Trey Pettlon, has taken an active interest in helping families dealing with suicides and psychiatrist malpractice. He understands that if you have lost a loved one under these circumstances, you may not know where to turn or what your options are. That is why we are here.

We have the knowledge and experience to evaluate what happened as well as explain and pursue your legal options. Contact us today to schedule a free, confidential consultation so we can learn more about your situation and how we can help you.

Psychiatrist malpractice and other forms of medical and hospital negligence can result from a wide variety of situations, including:

• The psychiatrist may have failed to properly diagnose the patient as a threat to himself/herself or others by not correctly identifying the risk factors presented.
• A doctor may not have ordered the proper level of monitoring for the patient, including being given access to leave or roam the facility and visit dangerous places, such as the roof or areas where windows are not secured.
• A medication error occurs, involving incorrect dosages or the wrong drugs being administered.

Although these cases are difficult to pursue, we understand the difficulties and we have working relationships with leading experts who can evaluate and testify if these or other forms of psychiatric malpractice occurred.

We know that no amount of money can bring back a loved one or compensate for the additional harm suffered by an already fragile person, but it can cause a doctor or hospital to change their ways and be more careful. And if you loved one did not succeed in taking his or her life, but did suffer a brain injury or some other severe injury, the recovery may help pay for better care for them. People who have severe psychiatric conditions, such as hopelessness, chronic depression, or paranoid schizophrenia, have rights and people with suicidal intent must be carefully monitored. Because at that low point their lives may not mean much to them, but they mean a lot to someone else. Contact us today to discuss your case so we can help you through this tough time.

Additionally, to learn more about the area of psychiatrist malpractice, please visit our blog