Suicide is ranked as high as the 6th leading cause of death in the United
States by the National Safety Council (13th worldwide), with more than one
million people committing suicide each year worldwide.
Because suicide is
far-reaching, complex, and sometimes perplexing for those left behind, our wrongful death
attorneys at K & W Legal want to help you better
understand this situation in case this may have recently occurred to one of
your family members or loved ones.
Any number of factors might
contribute to a person taking their own life, including mental health and/or
other social problems. In some cases it is likely impossible to know
why a particular person chose to take their own life, and in other cases a
person may have left behind a note or some indication as to why they chose to
end their life.
In the context of a lawsuit for
negligence where the defendant is blamed for the suicide death of an individual
based on prior negligence, the answer on how to respond and how to dissect the
concept of suicide might seem a daunting task.
Here are three examples of
wrongful death based upon suicide you may want to read about if you think you
may have a similar wrongful death claim:
1) To recover for negligence in
Georgia, proof of causation is required.
In a recent case (Morris v. Baxter,
225 Ga. App. 186 (483 S.E.2d 650) (1997)), the court of appeals held that
“[n]egligence is not actionable unless it is the proximate cause of the injury,
[and a] wrongdoer is not responsible for a consequence which is merely
possible, according to occasional experience, but only for a consequence which
is probable, according to ordinary and usual experience.”
In other words, this rule is
based in fairness, because “negligence is predicated on what should have been
anticipated rather than on what happened.”
The inquiry is “not whether a
defendant’s conduct constituted a cause in fact of an injury, but rather
whether the causal connection between the conduct and the injury is too remote
for the law to countenance a recovery.”
2) Generally, Suicide Is An
Unforeseeable Event In The Chain of Causation.
In Georgia, “[g]enerally,
suicide is an unforeseeable intervening cause of death which absolves the
tortfeasor of liability (Appling v. Jones, 115 Ga. App. 301, 303 (1) (154
S.E.2d 406) (1967)).” Although, “there is an exception to this general
rule: Where the tortfeasor’s wrongful act causes the injured party
to kill himself during a rage or frenzy, or in response to an uncontrollable
impulse, the wrongful act is considered to be the proximate cause of the
suicide.”
3) There Can be a Causal Link
Between Prescribed Medication and Suicide.
Lately, more and more drugs
seem to advertise that one side effect may be suicidal thoughts or
actions. Thus, the intersection of malpractice and these medications
can open the door to liability for resulting suicides. That was what happened in a
recent case (Romona L. Floyd, Individually, as Surviving Parent of Jessica Ann
Ray, deceased, and as Administratrix of the Estate of Jessica Ann Ray, deceased
v. United States of America, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125247 (2010)).
In that case, the decedent, a
15-year-old female, received a prescription for Prozac when it was not
indicated or appropriate.
A nurse practitioner prescribed
the medication during a follow-up visit from the emergency room at a clinic in
Hartwell, Georgia while the decedent had been experiencing nausea, vomiting,
and abdominal pain. The nurse wrote the prescription on a prescription pad
that had been pre-signed by the supervising doctor, and in her notes for that
visit, the nurse wrote “depression – Prozac.”
After ingesting the Prozac, the
decedent hanged herself, which resulted in a devastating brain injury that
ultimately caused her death.
If an incident similar to one
of these three documented cases has happened to someone close to you, our
attorneys at K&W Legal can help provide the legal
guidance you need to better understand your situation.
As experienced professionals in
the wrongful death legal field, we can offer you the
one-on-one support to help you through the process of your potential claim,
each and every step of the way.
Contact K&W Legal today
at: (404)835-8080. We will fight for YOU.
