As a general rule, communications between a psychiatrist or a psychologist and their patient is confidential. In other words, a counselor cannot disclose matters that he learns from a patient in the course of treatment. However, there is an important exception to this rule. In Arizona, when a psychiatrist knows or should have determined that a patient poses a serious danger of violence to others, the psychiatrist has an obligation to exercise reasonable care to protect the foreseeable victims of that danger.
If you have been injured or a family member has been killed by an individual that has been under the care of a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker or counselor, your attorney should investigate whether the mental health worker bears responsibility for failing to warn the victim of the risk that the patient posed.
Contact the Law Office of Elliot Glicksman, PLLC, in Tucson, Arizona, to schedule a no-obligation consultation.
