Another Physician Found Not Liable for Suicide in Virginia

A jury in Virginia Beach returned a defense verdict for a family medicine physician in December 2023.  Plaintiff alleged that the defendant failed to recognize suicidal ideation in her patient and was therefore liable when the patient ultimately took her own life.  But the jury disagreed, finding that plaintiff was of sound mind during the act, and therefore the defendant could not be liable.

In Virginia, suicide is still considered a common law crime, which is a hot-button issue with some lawmakers due to the tax implications for families.  But beyond that, a party who commits an illegal act cannot recover from other participants in the commission of that act, nor can they recover from parties who consented to or failed to prevent the act.  Miller v. Bennett, 190 Va. 162, 164-65 (1949).  This means that a patient who commits suicide cannot recover from a health care provider who failed to intervene to prevent the suicide, nor can their family.

There is a caveat, however.  To constitute a “suicide” under Virginia common law, the patient who commits suicide must be “of years of discretion” and of sound mind.  Wackwitz v. Roy, 244 Va. 60, 65 (1992). When a defendant raises the defense of illegality because the patient was of sound mind, the burden then shifts to the plaintiff to prove that the patient was of unsound mind at the time of their death.  This defense verdict, and several others in Virginia in recent years, is evidence that juries have concluded that the act of suicide itself is not concrete evidence of an “unsound mind.”

If you have any questions about this case or laws impacting health care providers in Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia, feel free to contact us. Our Health Law Practice Group is ready to assist.