Posted on 01/17/2013 6:35:25 PM PST by Red Steel
Edited on 01/18/2013 5:38:36 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
THE widow of a victim of the US theatre massacre is suing a psychiatrist for neglect, for failing to have the alleged shooter arrested despite him having "fantasised about killing a lot of people."
The lawsuit, also citing the University of Colorado, alleges that Dr Lynne Fenton advised campus police about her concern regarding James Holmes, after he told her about the fantasy in June last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
This should be interesting but I don’t think it will fly.
Gee, didn’t see that coming. /s
Doctor-patient priveledgse should not extend to the point where a patient is in danger of killing others. But it has to be THE DOCTOR who is smart enough to know.
She could have had him involuntarily committed as a danger to himself or others. I am not even a doctor and I had it done to my brother
This is not like a confessional and priest - which IS sacred. But even a priest can point out who is dangerous to the police without reveling what was said.
Lawyers will be making serious money on this one.
I don’t think such a suit is possible. There’s doctor-patient confidentiality, and the fact that you can’t arrest someone for their thoughts, no matter how disturbed. If he warned the right people, that’s all anyone can do. And anyway, liberals have made it impossible to commit someone to an insanity ward. I drive all the time past the place where “One Flew Over the Coocoo’s Nest” was filmed. It’s empty. All the nuts are wandering the streets now.
No Tarasoff duty to the public at large. This has summary judgment written all over it.
...having “fantasised about killing a lot of people.”
And what meds was he on that caused these thoughts and his subsequent actions?
Lets get to the root cause of all this.
I believe the doc works for the University...so there are hundreds of millions at stake here. I’m guessing that they will dissolve mental health offerings to the students in the future because they really can’t afford to ever encounter another event like this.
Most colleges will watch, and learn. You can figure that unless the state itself offers mental health...no one much is going to volunteer much of anything.
Personally, I would suspect that 250k people in the US need to be put into an institution immediately, and at least another 250k need long-term review. But, that’s not something that will ever happen. The crazies need to walk among us.
Is she any relation to Sandra Fluke?
Sheesh.......
“Involuntarily committed”?
In recent months I have heard many professionals on various talk shows describe how hard it is to get someone committed. The liberals have screwed that up to the point where it is almost impossible until violent crimes are committed. They can hold them for a day or so then have to release them. We can thank the liberals for this problem as well as the homeless problem.
While liberals love big government, it's power has not been extended to those who are in trouble mentally.
Libs have released the mentally ill onto our streets and then have blamed gun owners and others for the damage they have done to society.
Onyx...what say you?;-) You know first hand, while I am only an observer.
The problem is going to be context and level of the ‘fantasy’ in question IMO.
“fantasised about killing a lot of people.”
...could put a lot of liberals in jail if one applies it to Twitter accounts. Probably should.
But sis the psych think he was just being a Django movie watcher with a big mouth and a small...well you know. Or did she think he was a gen-U-ine psycho. That’s the problem.
They weren’t just thoughts ~ he demonstrated that.
If he had said for example that he had just flunked biology, and wanted to kill his biology professor, that would require the doctor to warn the professor and notify the authorities and notify the patient that she was doing so.
Things like this mass shooting are unpredictable at this stage in our knowledge and the false positives are way to high to begin restraining people for what most of the time is an idle expression of anger or resentment.
So you had someone involuntarily committed, and it was really easy? Was this recently?
Yeah, I’m calling BS, unless it took place many years ago. The asylums are simply not around anymore.
Sad but true. I used to volunteer at our church to help out "needy" and homeless people. Most were mentally ill liars. Mean too, some threatening us if we didn't help them.
>>And anyway, liberals have made it impossible to commit someone to an insanity ward. I drive all the time past the place where “One Flew Over the Coocoo’s Nest” was filmed. It’s empty. All the nuts are wandering the streets now.
Worth saying again.
Also worth saying, on the other hand, I’m not sure I’d want it to be too easy to have someone committed. Leftists would use it against political enemies.
It is a tough thing all around.
It was not easy but it was pretty obvious to everyone he needed it (it was my brother) and so there was little objection all around
When he went outside in -5 degree weather to walk 40 miles to his ‘girlfriends’ house with just a spring jacket on, he is lucky they found him on the road before he froze to death.
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