QUESTION: My son committed suicide after not getting help or medication in a mandatory psychiatric holding facility. Can I sue them for malpractice or wrongful death? ANSWER: Psychiatrists, hospitals, or mental health facilities owe a duty of care to take responsible steps to prevent foreseeable suicide. This special relationship is born out of the patient’s dependency on the health care provider who “has some control over the (patient’s) welfare” [Kockelman v. Segal (1998)].