Court says son can sue psychiatrist over father’s suicide
Published 4:10 pm Wednesday, May 30, 2018
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Court of Appeals says the son of a man who killed himself can sue a psychiatrist and the psychiatrist’s employer.
The court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that Graham Irby can sue Dr. Sudhakar Madakasira and Psycamore LLC over claims that Madakasira’s intentional acts created an “irresistible impulse” to suicide in his father.
Part of one of Jackson’s richest families, Stuart Irby died by suicide in January 2012.
The court previously rejected Graham Irby’s lawsuit, saying he waited too long to file. But that March 2017 ruling came five days after the state Supreme Court ruled that time limits on some wrongful death lawsuits don’t apply until a child turns 21. Thus, the appeals court reversed itself.
Judges say Irby can’t proceed with negligence or regular medical malpractice claims.