The Supreme Court of the State of Nevada stated in its Opinion filed on June 12, 2025: “In the instant medical malpractice action alleged that a medical provider’s negligence in treating his patient caused the patient to die by suicide. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the medical provider, finding that the patient’s suicide precluded liability as a matter of law. However, Nevada’s professional negligence statutes, NRS Chapter 41A, do not preclude a medical provider from being held liable for a patient’s suicide, and we have never held that such a preclusion exists.”
“We decline to adopt a rule that a patient’s suicide relieves a medical provider of liability for the patient’s death. We instead hold that the determination as to whether a medical provider is liable for a patient’s injuries must be resolved under established medical malpractice law.”
“Here, the district court granted summary judgment based on the incorrect rationale that liability for medical malpractice was precluded as a matter of law. The district court rationalized that because the patient was not under the custody or control of the medical provider when the patient died by suicide, the provider was relieved of liability. We reject this reasoning and reverse the summary judgment, remanding the case for further proceedings.”
Background Facts
Following Bourne’s death, Bourne’s wife and minor child filed suit against Valdes for medical malpractice, alleging that Valdes’ negligence in failing to taper Bourne off Klonopin caused Bourne to die by suicide. Their medical expert, Dr. Donald A. Misch, opined inter alia that Valdes deviated from the standard of care when he simultaneously prescribed an opioid and a benzodiazepine, and when he took Bourne off Klonopin without tapering the dosage. Dr. Misch further opined that Valdes’ actions contributed to Bourne’s suicide.
Suicide Rule
The defendants argued that they could not be held liable for a patient’s suicide because suicide is a superseding intervening cause that severs the medical provider’s liability. This “suicide rule,” while not addressed in Nevada law, is the majority rule adopted by most states and precludes liability for a patient’s suicide where the patient was not in the control or custody of the medical provider.
The Nevada Supreme Court held: “We conclude that a patient’s suicide does not preclude liability for medical malpractice as a matter of law. Rather, like any other action alleging that a medical provider’s negligence caused injury or death to a patient, the ordinary principles of medical malpractice apply. Consistent with existing Nevada medical malpractice law, a medical provider who is alleged to have provided negligent care to a patient owes a duty of care to
that patient, regardless of whether the medical provider has control over, or custody of, the patient. If the medical provider’s conduct is proven to fall below the standard of care, then “the crucial inquiry is whether the defendant’s negligent conduct led to or made it reasonably foreseeable that the deceased would commit suicide.” White v. Lawrence, 975 S.W.2d 525, 530 (Tenn. 1998). If the patient’s suicide is a foreseeable consequence of the medical provider’s negligence, then the medical provider may be held liable. See Patricia C. Kussmann, Annotation, Liability of Doctor, Psychiatrist, or Psychologist for Failure to Take Steps to Prevent Patient’s Suicide, 81 ALR 5th 167, § 4 (2000) (“For a doctor to be liable for a patient’s suicide, the suicide must have been foreseeable.”). However, where the patient’s suicide is not foreseeable, then the suicide is a superseding intervening cause, severing the causal chain and relieving the medical provider of liability for their negligence. White, 975 S.W.2d at 530.”
Bourne v. Valdes, M.D., 141 Nev., Advance Opinion 30.
If your loved one died from suicide as a result of medical malpractice in Nevada or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Nevada medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your suicide malpractice claim for you and represent you in a suicide medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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