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Psychiatrist-Patient Privilege

The following summaries are of recent published decisions of the California appellate courts, the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. The summaries are presented without regard to whether Severson & Werson represented a party in the case.

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McGovern v. BHC Fremont Hosp., Inc., Nos. A161051, A161052, 2022 Cal. App. LEXIS 1074 (Ct. App. Dec. 21, 2022)

While in the hospital, plaintiff was assaulted by a psychiatric patient at the same hospital.  Plaintiff sued the hospital claiming it failed to take reasonable measures to protect plaintiff from the assault which it should have anticipated from information available to the hospital's psychiatrist.  This decision holds that the trial court erroneously concluded that plaintiff was not entitled to discovery… Read More