Understanding deliberate indifference to suicide in corrections facilities: A review of recent legal cases

The US corrections system is the largest provider of mental health care in the country. Suicide is a leading cause of death in corrections facilities with rates of inmate suicide being far higher than the national average. Suicide is an event that can lead to legal action against the facility, staff, and treating health-care providers. Some claims are based on medical malpractice. In this setting, claims may also be brought based on violations of the detainee's constitutional rights. Pretrial detainees and prisoners, alike, have a constitutional right to adequate medical and psychiatric care through the Fourteenth Amendment and Eighth Amendment, respectively. But, there is limited information on constitutional claims made against correctional health-care providers for cases of inmate suicide. To help bridge this gap, the authors conducted a search of federal legal case decisions involving claims against health-care providers for deliberate indifference to a detainee's serious illness or injury in the event of attempted suicide or death by suicide over a 5 year period from 2016 to 2021. Fifteen cases were identified. Five themes emerged from the cases, which could serve as bases for claims against health-care professionals: receiving screening, mental health assessment, treatment, documentation, and attention to facility policies. The cases and their clinical significance are summarized in this article. The materials provide an overview of the problems surrounding correctional suicides and can serve as practice pointers in the corporeal setting.