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Abstract: 

In Burns v. Robertson Co., Tenn., the Robertson Co. Jail argued that it had “no actual knowledge of the risk of suicide” and thus no liability for the suicide of a seriously mentally ill detainee who had not been screened for suicide risk. Key to the ruling against the jail was the administrator’s failure to pass along to an examining nurse warnings from three different people about the risk when the detaineed was booked. A Department of Justice report on the jail’s inadequate screening and mental health practices added conclusive evidence of negligence and pave the way to a large judgment against the jail system.

Keywords: Suicide screening

Affiliations:  1: Executive Editor.