TY - JOUR
T1 - Tell your clients you might hurt them
T2 - Negligence, consent, and contemporary psychological practice
AU - O'Brien-Malone, Angela
AU - Diamond, Mark R.
PY - 2006/11/1
Y1 - 2006/11/1
N2 - Two cases of medical negligence were brought before the High Court during the 1990s. The resulting judgments altered the pre-existing law of negligence and imposed new duties on all health professionals, including psychologists. Subsequent legislative changes have incorporated these High Court judgments and reaffirmed the duty that psychologists have to inform their clients of the (frequently unrecognised) risks of treatment. These same changes allow the possibility of psychologists being sued if they engage in forms of practice that are not logically defensible. We describe the historical context of the law of medical negligence and consider the ramifications that the recent legal changes have for psychologists.
AB - Two cases of medical negligence were brought before the High Court during the 1990s. The resulting judgments altered the pre-existing law of negligence and imposed new duties on all health professionals, including psychologists. Subsequent legislative changes have incorporated these High Court judgments and reaffirmed the duty that psychologists have to inform their clients of the (frequently unrecognised) risks of treatment. These same changes allow the possibility of psychologists being sued if they engage in forms of practice that are not logically defensible. We describe the historical context of the law of medical negligence and consider the ramifications that the recent legal changes have for psychologists.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33748561449&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00050060600776366
DO - 10.1080/00050060600776366
M3 - Review article
SN - 0005-0067
VL - 41
SP - 160
EP - 167
JO - Australian Psychologist
JF - Australian Psychologist
IS - 3
ER -