SW Legal Educational Publishing  Mental Health Professionals in
Pennsylvania Have Limited Duty to Warn Third Parties of Dangers
Description Pennsylvania high court adopted the rule that mental
health professionals have a duty to warn third parities of
specific dangers posed by patients under their care. The court
found that in this case, where a counselor warned a woman to
stay away from her former boyfriend, the duty to warn had been
satisfied. Topic Torts Key Words Negligence; Duty to Warn;
Mental Health Professionals C A S E   S U M M A R Y Facts
Hausler was murdered by her former boyfriend, Joseph, who was
under mental health treatment. He had a history of violence. The
day of the murder, Joseph told his counselor that he was going
to kill Hausler. After counseling, when he refused to commit
himself to the hospital, he said he would not kill her. The
counselor then warned Hausler not to go near Joseph, but she did
and was killed. Her family sued the mental health facility for
negligence for failure to war