Negligence comes in may forms. Lawyers talk about acts of commission, but negligence can also arise through acts of omission… In our experience medicine and healthcare generally attract their fair share of cases involving omission. Here is one very recent example.

The tragic death of a young man through suicide gave rise to a negligence claim involving a psychiatrist on the basis that there was a failure to section him under the Mental Health Act. There was wide acknowledgement about the current pressures, yet a claim was successfully made…

A salutary warning to those involved in mental health work.