The Portable Lawyer for Mental Health Professionals An A-Z Guide to Protecting You Clients, Your Practice, and Yourself

Ethics Risk Management in Social Work: A Primer

“…Professional malpractice is generally considered a form of negligence. Negligence applies to professionals who are required to perform in a manner consistent with the legal concept of the standard of care in the profession, which is generally defined as the way a reasonable and prudent professional should have acted under the same or similar circumstances (Hartsell & Bernstein, 2013). Malpractice in social work usually is the result of a practitioner's active violation of a client's rights (in legal terms, acts of commission, misfeasance, or malfeasance) or a practitioner's failure to perform certain duties (known as acts of omission or nonfeasance).…”

“…4. The social worker's dereliction of duty was the direct and proximate cause of the harm or injury (Hartsell & Bernstein, 2013).…”

“…In the case of litigation, complaints may settle out of court or proceed to trial; statistically, most settle pretrial, although after what lawyers call discovery, during which each party learns about the evidence that the other party may present (Hartsell & Bernstein, 2013). Discovery typically includes formal interrogatories and depositions.…”

“…Relatively few social workers engage in egregious ethical misconduct, are named as defendants in lawsuits, or named as respondents in licensing board complaints (Barsky, 2019;Hartsell & Bernstein, 2013;Reamer, 2015). The vast majority of social workers practice ethically and competently, adhering to widely embraced standards of ethics and social work practice designed to protect clients.…”

“…Sadly, some social workers-a distinct minority-cross the proverbial ethics line, thus posing significant risk to clients and to their own careers (Hartsell & Bernstein, 2013;Reamer, 2015). These practitioners are much more likely to have lawsuits and licensing board complaints filed against them.…”