negligence forgery
Forging a signature on a legal document, NY
<p>What is the penalty for forging the signature of a Psychiatrist on a NYS Article 14 9.55 form, enabling an outpatient mental health care provider to summon police assistance in transferring a patient to a hospital for emergency evaluation? Also, could the same act be legally defined as medical negligence?</p>

<p>It is a <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/170.05" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Class A misdemeanor</a>, the <a href="https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/forensic/manual/html/chapter1.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">penalty</a> for which is up to 1 year imprisonment or 3 years probation, and a fine up to $1,000 or twice the gain from the crime. It might also be <a href="http://www.attorneys.com/medical-malpractice/new-york/new-york-medical-malpractice-basics" rel="nofollow noreferrer">medical malpractice</a>, depending on the standard of care owed to the person; more seriously, it would probably be fraud and false imprisonment.</p>

<p>The comment somewhat clarifies the circumstances, that a medical practitioner who is (by assertion) not a psychiatrist is alleged to have forged the signature of Dr. X. Maintaining the assumption that one of the two people who saw the patient is a medical practitioner and signed the paperwork, then the question is whether purporting to be Dr. X and signing paperwork that results in the unlawful seizing of a person constitutes a breach of that professional duty of care. There is an article, "Liability Risks for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners" (Elsevier paywall) which gives an overview of liability issues for psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners which points out the possibility of civil and criminal sanctions for a bad faith involuntary hospitalization action. <a href="https://aonaffinity.blob.core.windows.net/affinitytemplate-prod/media/nso/images/documents/cna_cls_np_101917_cf_prod_sec.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">This</a> (free) article  surveys some of the underlying legal issues, and summarizes the duty of care issue as asking whether the provider's care deviates from the accepted standard of care for such a provider. This then involves expert testimony regarding what that standard is. I very much doubt that it is "standard care" to violate state law w.r.t. emergency hospitalization.</p>

<p>The key distinction between medical negligence and medical malpractice is that malpractice involves an intent to go ahead despite the risk of injury. So it depends on whether you can prove intent.</p>
