Premium
Tardive dyskinesia and malpractice
Author(s) -
Wettstein Robert M.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.2370010111
Subject(s) - tardive dyskinesia , medicine , malpractice , psychiatry , informed consent , liability , dyskinesia , psychology , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , law , alternative medicine , political science , disease , pathology , parkinson's disease
Tardive dyskinesia is a potentially irreversible disorder of involuntary movement which may result from the prolonged use of neuroleptic medication in some patients. Its increase in prevalence in recent years has been accompanied by increased apprehension in the medical community regarding malpractice litigation. Following an update of current knowledge about tardive dyskinesia, several legal aspects of tardive dyskinesia are reviewed, including negligence, breach of contract, fraud, strict liability and informed consent. Despite considerable criticism of the doctrine of informed consent, it is suggested that it constitutes an inherent and indispensable component of long‐term psychiatric treatment, where tardive dyskinesia is at issue.