Montana Code Annotated 2019

TITLE 27. CIVIL LIABILITY, REMEDIES, AND LIMITATIONS

CHAPTER 1. AVAILABILITY OF REMEDIES -- LIABILITY

Part 11. Liability of Mental Health Professionals

Duty To Warn Of Violent Behavior

27-1-1102. Duty to warn of violent behavior. A mental health professional has a duty to warn of or take reasonable precautions to provide protection from violent behavior only if the patient has communicated to the mental health professional an actual threat of physical violence by specific means against a clearly identified or reasonably identifiable victim. The duty is discharged by a mental health professional if the mental health professional has:

(1) made reasonable efforts to communicate the threat to the victim and notify the law enforcement agency closest to the patient's or the victim's residence of the threat of violence; and

(2) supplied a requesting law enforcement agency with any information the mental health professional has concerning the threat of violence.

History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 214, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 596, Ch. 56, L. 2009.