Can my son sue a psychologist who testified falsely on the stand against my son?
A licencsed psychologist who said he was acting as a forensic psychologist in a custody hearing, testified that my son was sexually abusing his daughter. In cross examination he admitted the girl had never said that but he based it on the child's behavior and what the mother and grandmother had told him. He had also been seeing the grandmother as a client and the mother for over two years! He should have removed himself from the case in the first place because he was truly biased. None of his testimony was based on scientific fact..it was all opinion. Because of the affadavit he and a supervised psychologist signed, my son had supervised visitation for over a year. He now has his shared parenting back but the mother continues to fight him on everything. The child is now five years old and precious moments have been lost due to the mother and grandmother;'s alientation techniques which were only compounded by the unethical behavior of the psychologist!
Answers:
this is a question for your sons attorney in this custody battle. the people on YA are probably not qualified to help you in this legal situation unless they are family law attorneys
It would be very difficult to do. You would have to get another psychologist to review the case, interview the witnesses and then bring a case. The whole thing would cost at least $100,000 and you have no guarantee the case will be decided in your favor.
I am not a lawyer, but, as far as I know, if the psychiatrist were to intentionally lie on the stand he could be sued for medical malpractice and face criminal charges of perjury. However, if the psychologist told his true understanding of the situation, the best your son could sue for is malpractice.
If your son decides to sue, he will need to see a qualified lawyer in the area of malpractice, who will discuss with him whether or not he has a case, how much he could hope to recoup and how time-consuming the litigation could be.
i have a low opinion of most of the people i have met in the psychiatric field,,,got a nephew with problems , big time,, and all they do is throw meds at him-
-i have a son that teaches psychology in a university --
that said --sue the hell out of him--winning is another story
edit to tiare----
"the people on YA are probably not qualified "
you on the nose here
psychlogists are SUPPOSED to render opinions based on their observations. That is the nature of psychological testimony. In every case of claimed insanity, for instance, the psychologists and psychiatrists render opinions based on observations. The doc most likely did not say that the son was abusing the daughter. instead, he most likely said that it was his opinion, based on observation, that the daughter had been molested by a male adult authority figure and that the only male adult authority figure available was your son. There is nothing wrong with that testimony and it is not a lie unless the doc actually did not have that opinion.
Most of the time no, a witness (even a hired gun) cannot be sued for testimony given under oath. If it's a lie and constitutes perjury, they can be prosecuted. But a wrong opinion does not a lawsuit make. Talk to your own lawyer to see if there might be an exception that applies to your case.
So, what would you be suing him for? Being biased? Making you angry? Saying something you didn't agree with? You can't sue someone for any of those things; you can only sue for true damages, and you have none.
Frankly, I think that your son was lucky that he got even supervised visitation if there was an opinion or suspicion that he was abusing his daughter -- and you said yourself that he has shared parenting back. I believe that the courts should look at all cases on their own merits, but the court should also always err on the side of doing the best thing for the child. It sucks that your son had a year of supervised visitation, but he also was able to prove himself and get his rights back. You don't have any damages to sue for.
The answers post by the user, for information only, FreeLawAnswer.com does not guarantee the right.
Answer question:
More Law Questions and Answers: