Martin v. Smith

NEELY, Justice:

In this wrongful death action, David H. Smith, M.D., a psychiatrist, appeals from a $650,000 judgment entered against him on 11 September 1991 in the Ohio County Circuit Court. Mrs. Pauline Martin, mother of James Martin (hereinafter “the decedent”) asserted that Dr. Smith deviated from the ■ accepted standard of care in his treatment of the decedent, an involuntarily-committed man and that Dr. Smith’s malpractice resulted in the decedent’s suicide. The lower court found for Mrs. Martin and awarded $200,000 to her individually and $450,000 to the decedent’s young daughter.

The…