Trial Win for Tim Napier and Jessica Owens

On December 8, 2017, Tim Napier and Jessica Owens successfully defended their client, a psychiatrist, against a medical malpractice suit in Louisville, Kentucky. The psychiatrist performed an emergency psychiatric evaluation, including a suicide risk assessment. The psychiatrist and a social worker determined that the patient did not meet Kentucky's statutory criteria for involuntary hospitalization. A few hours after being discharged with a relative, the patient took an assault rifle from the relative's collection and committed suicide. Patient's wife filed a wrongful death claim against the psychiatrist, the social worker and the hospital, seeking damages for the patient's estate, and on behalf of his minor children. The social worker and the hospital resolved their claims before trial. After hearing competing testimony from two of the foremost forensic psychiatrists in the United States, the jury found in favor of Tim and Jessica's client, returning a unanimous defense verdict.