The Reality of Psychiatric Malpractice

The term medical malpractice usually conjures up images of a doctor physically harming patients, leaving them injured or hurt.  There is another kind of negligence, however, that rarely results in a patient suffering from any kind of physical pain or harm, however victims of this type of malpractice can suffer just as much.

In cases of psychiatric malpractice, victims are left with mental and emotional, rather than physical scars.  But if this type of malpractice seems somehow less damaging than others, it isn’t.  In fact, the results of psychiatric malpractice can be equally devastating, if not more so.

Such is the recent case of young Ashlie Bunch, who committed suicide while supposedly under the care of trained psychiatrists and staff at the McGraw Residential Center in Seattle.  She was just 15 years old.

Ashlie’s adoptive father Steve recalls a somewhat troubled child who “thrived with love” but also suffered from a mental illness.  When she began acting out, threatening teachers and bringing a knife to school, she was ordered by a judge to enter a psychiatric facility.

In a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Ashlie’s family, the facility’s staff was supposed to check on her every five minutes.  They neglected to do this, and on January 29, 2008, the teenager hung herself in her room with a pair of shoelaces.  Perhaps most concerning is the fact that the shoelaces were given to Ashlie by a staff member.

Psychiatric malpractice and negligence may not result in visible bruises and scars on its victims, but the damage it does to those already suffering from mental illness is often far worse.  If you feel that you have been hurt by a psychiatrist or mental healthcare provider, you should know your rights.  Contact a medical lawyer to discuss your situation right away.