Kockelman v. Segal

Opinion

BAMATTRE-MANOUKIAN, J.

In this wrongful death action, Valerie Kockelman alleged that psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Segal and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation for Health Care, Research and Education, were negligent in treating her husband, William Kockelman, for his chronic depression, and that this negligence was a proximate cause of her husband’s suicide. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants, finding as a matter of law that there was no duty owed to the decedent because he was being treated as an outpatient rather than in a hospital setting. We have concluded…