I read with interest the April 11 editorial “Ignoring Bart Ross’ threats.” I am one of the surgeons who successfully treated Mr. Ross’ cancer, and have been involved in this case for more than a decade.
While the threats Ross made were well-documented, it is important to note that he never was referred for professional psychiatric evaluation in consultation with lawyers and law enforcement.
In medical practice, when a person expresses delusional ideation or suicide, or makes threats against another, physicians are obligated, unless they have the training, to consult those more qualified. It’s astonishing that the legal profession doesn’t routinely do the same.
Perhaps part of the problem underlying this horrifying event is that lawyers, judges and law enforcement, absent the help of psychiatric-trained medical professionals, may not be the best qualified to render an opinion regarding a litigant’s mental status.
The failure to recognize this as a public health concern not only subverts the real issues at hand but may also indirectly ensure that catastrophe happens again. Instead let’s view this as the public health issue it is and place a more constructive emphasis on realistic solutions rather than speculating on who should have been paying attention and what might have been prevented.
