Case Types
Cases Where Behavioral Health Expertise Is Required
The following categories represent the types of matters for which DHL provides expert opinion. Each requires knowledge that goes beyond general healthcare — into the specific operational, clinical, and regulatory standards that govern behavioral health settings.
01
Negligence & Malpractice
Failure to Meet the Standard of Care
Cases alleging that a behavioral health facility, program, or provider failed to deliver care consistent with accepted professional standards. Expert opinion addresses what the applicable standard required, whether it was met, and the operational or clinical factors that contributed to the deviation.
Representative Issues
- Inadequate psychiatric assessment or intake screening
- Failure to implement or follow an appropriate treatment plan
- Insufficient monitoring of patients at risk of self-harm or elopement
- Premature discharge or inappropriate level-of-care placement
- Failure to coordinate care across treatment settings
02
Administrative & Governance
Organizational Failures in Behavioral Health Settings
Cases where the alleged harm stems not from a single clinical decision but from systemic failures in how a facility was governed, staffed, or operated. These cases require an expert who understands how behavioral health organizations are structured and managed — not just how they deliver clinical care.
Representative Issues
- Inadequate staffing ratios or supervision structures
- Failure to establish or enforce policies and procedures
- Deficient staff training, credentialing, or competency verification
- Breakdown in chain of command or escalation protocols
- Board or executive-level failures in oversight and accountability
03
Regulatory & Accreditation
Violations of Licensing and Accreditation Standards
Cases involving alleged violations of CARF, JCAHO, or state licensing requirements. Expert opinion can address what the applicable regulatory standard required, whether the facility was in compliance, and whether non-compliance was a contributing factor in the harm alleged.
Representative Issues
- CARF or JCAHO accreditation standard violations
- State licensing requirement failures
- Deficiencies identified in regulatory surveys or inspections
- Failure to implement corrective action plans
- Documentation and record-keeping deficiencies
04
Patient Safety & Elopement
Harm Resulting from Inadequate Safety Protocols
Cases involving patient injury, elopement, suicide, or harm to others that occurred within or in connection with a behavioral health setting. Expert opinion addresses whether the facility's safety protocols, environmental safeguards, and clinical monitoring met the applicable standard.
Representative Issues
- Patient suicide or serious self-harm during inpatient or residential treatment
- Elopement from a secure or supervised behavioral health unit
- Assault or harm involving other patients or staff
- Failure to conduct or act on appropriate suicide risk assessments
- Environmental safety deficiencies in inpatient or residential settings
05
Substance Use Disorder Programs
Standards in Addiction Treatment Settings
Cases arising from care provided in substance use disorder treatment programs — including detoxification, residential rehabilitation, PHP, and IOP settings. Expert opinion addresses the specific standards applicable to addiction treatment, which differ in important respects from general psychiatric care.
Representative Issues
- Medically supervised detoxification failures
- Inadequate clinical assessment for substance use severity
- Failure to provide appropriate level of care for addiction treatment
- Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) protocol deficiencies
- Premature discharge from residential or intensive outpatient programs
06
Startup & New Program Liability
Failures in Newly Established Behavioral Health Entities
Cases involving harm that occurred in a newly opened or recently restructured behavioral health program. These matters often turn on whether the facility had adequate policies, procedures, staffing, and governance structures in place before accepting patients — a question that requires direct startup experience to answer credibly.
Representative Issues
- Premature patient admission before operational readiness
- Absence of required policies and procedures at time of harm
- Inadequate staffing or leadership during startup phase
- Failure to obtain or maintain required licensure or accreditation
- Governance failures in newly formed behavioral health entities
07
Wrongful Death
Death Resulting from Failures in Behavioral Health Care
Cases in which a patient death is alleged to have resulted from a failure in the delivery, oversight, or governance of behavioral health care. Wrongful death matters in behavioral health settings frequently involve a combination of clinical, administrative, and environmental failures — and require an expert who can address all three dimensions with equal authority.
Representative Issues
- Patient suicide during inpatient, residential, or outpatient treatment
- Death following premature discharge or inappropriate level-of-care determination
- Fatal outcome resulting from failure to conduct or act on suicide risk assessment
- Death attributable to inadequate monitoring, staffing, or supervision
- Overdose death in a detoxification or substance use disorder treatment setting
- Death resulting from elopement from a supervised behavioral health facility
Settings Covered
Across the Full Continuum of Care
Expert opinion is available for cases arising in any of the following behavioral health settings — each governed by its own distinct standards, regulations, and operational requirements.
Acute Inpatient Psychiatric
Residential Treatment
Partial Hospitalization (PHP)
Intensive Outpatient (IOP)
Outpatient Behavioral Health
Substance Use Disorder / Detox
Crisis Stabilization Units
Dual Diagnosis Programs
The Distinction
"Behavioral healthcare is a distinct discipline. Cases that arise within it require an expert who has led these organizations — not merely studied them."
David H. Lewis MA FACHE — Principal, DHL: Behavioral Healthcare Consulting
Does your case fall within these categories?
Submit a case inquiry and David Lewis will personally review the matter to determine whether a well-founded expert opinion is available.