In a split 3-2 decision, Vermont's Supreme Court has issued a ruling that broadens the responsibilities for mental health care providers to inform patients and their caretakers about the potential risks of dangerously mental ill patients.
The decision sends back to the Windham Superior Court a case that involved a lawsuit brought by the family of a St. Johnsbury man who was severely beaten by a former patient of the Brattleboro Retreat in 2011. The Windham Superior Court had dismissed that lawsuit, claiming the Retreat could not be held responsible for the actions of their former patient, since the attack on the St. Johnsbury man was random, and the attacker had not issued a threat against that specific person before it occurred.
Brattleboro Reformer reporter Bob Audette spoke with VPR about his coverage of the Supreme Court decision. Read his reporting here:
