Althaus Ex Rel. Althaus v. Cohen

OPINION OF THE COURT

CASTILLE, Justice.

The issue in this case is whether a therapist who treats a child for alleged parental sexual abuse owes a duty of care to the child’s parents in a therapeutic treatment situation where the child allegedly has been abused by the parents. Because we hold that a treating psychiatrist or psychologist does not have a duty to the non-patient parents, we reverse the decision of the Superior Court finding appellant liable to appellees.

Nicole Althaus was born on April 10, 1975. In 1990, when Nicole was fifteen years old, her mother was diagnosed with *550skin cancer…