Board Certified Expert Witness in Administrative and Malpractice Actions Involving California Marriage and Family Therapists, Clinical Social Workers, Drug and Alcohol Counselors, and Addictions Treatment Specialists.
Federico Grosso, DDS, PhD, MFT, BCFE is a board certified forensic expert helping California attorneys litigate and defend malpractice actions involving MFTs, LCSWs, CADCs, and CATS. He also has seved in national cases in malpractice actions involving dentists accused of child abuse arising from treatment in the workplace. His extensive forensic experience, his publications, lectures, and clinical experience make him an effective expert witness. He has been involved in major cases where has been successful in helping attorneys obtain desired results.
SANTA BARBARA, CA (PRWEB) May 21, 2004 -
— Federico C. Grosso, DDS, PhD, MFT, BCFE reported that he has been involved as a forensic expert witness in several major malpractice cases where he has been successful in presenting the legal and ethical standard of care for these clinicians. Dr. Grosso has been recognized by several malpractice attorneys for his ability to readily identify the strengths and weaknesses of malpractice and administrative cases and help them prepare for the “worst case” scenario. Thus, he helps attorneys avoid being blind-sided by issues not previously identified. As an author of several academic texts on California legal and ethical applications for the above mentioned clinicians, Dr. Grosso’s profound knowledge of clinical applications help defense and litigant malpractice attorneys strengthen their legal premises. In a recent major case, his in-depth knowledge and applications of legal and ethical standards helped a defense attorney stop a malpractice case against a licensed mental health clinician by way of a summary judgment with resulting saving of time, energy, and money.
Dr. Grosso is a firm believer in the concept of “safe clinical practice.” He defines this type of practice as one where the clinician is fully aware of the legal requirements mandated by his or her license, the ethical standards dictated by applicable professional organizations, the maintenance of personal clinical objectivity, and an understanding of the implications of legal and ethical decisions on his or her clinical practice. Legal experts also call this type of practitioner as a “reasonable and prudent” clinician.
Dr. Grosso uses a series of Interactive Online and Self-Study Courses, academic and clinical publications, practical clinical software, and statewide lectures for marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, alcohol and drug abuse counselors, and certified addictions treatment specialists to enhance the development of a safe clinical practice. These clinical resources are available from http://www. fgrosso. com (http://www. fgrosso. com).
In a recent presentation to new clinicians, Dr. Grosso stated that based on his court experience as an expert witness, most mental health clinicians make the following clinical mistakes: a) poor or no documentation of their therapeutic duty to assess, diagnose, and treat according to the standards of care; b) having inappropriate scope of competence (the training, knowledge, and experience) to treat the presenting issues, c) not staying current with changes in legal and ethical guidelines in their practice; d) not using an appropriate informed consent document to notify the client of the potential risks and benefits of treatment; e) not assessing appropriately for risk factors that can lead to harm to self or others, f) unintentionally breaching client confidentiality, g) ending treatment inappropriately, h) not having or using a treatment plan to document proposed treatment or to assess the progress of treatment, i) entering into inappropriate relationships with clients (friendship or sexual relationships), and j) failing to manage crisis issues appropriately.
Dr. Grosso’s continuing experience as a forensic expert in malpractice cases led to the development of these resources. These cases have involved marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, drug and alcohol counselors, and certified addictions treatment specialists. Dr. Grosso commented in a recent lecture, “Many clinicians are unable to defend their clinical actions because they fail to document how they reasoned a specific clinical challenge. They are unable to show opposing attorneys their duty to assess, diagnose, and treat the client appropriately throughout the duration of therapy or counseling due to poor mental health records and/or lack of appropriate training in mental health law and their specific professional ethical standards. They often write little or no clinical information about the patient because of improper training. In other cases, they write too much information and when the mental health records are subpoenaed, the opposing attorney uses this excessive information to discredit the client and/or the treating clinician.” This leaves the door open for clients to sue their clinicians in these cases to recuperate losses suffered in these court cases. This is especially true for California drug and alcohol counselors who are not bound by the mental health laws of the state and continue to treat clients without this legal foundation of safety.
Dr. GrossoÂ’s earlier publications on psychotherapy standards of care have become benchmark guided to defending or litigating malpractice actions involving the above mental health clinicians. Attorneys find that the concepts presented in these publications are easily applicable to all mental health clinicians, whether licensed or unlicensed, and that these concepts, as presented in these publications, are easily understood by juries. Many universities continue to use these publications in their classes to help students develop a safe structure of documenting both mental health records and progress notes to avoid potential malpractice and administrative actions. These publications are available at http://www. fgrosso. com (http://www. fgrosso. com).
Background on FGrosso. com. FGrosso. com provides mental health clinicians with practical and easy-to-use clinical resources including practice enhancement workbooks, online and self-study continuing education, software, consultation as an expert witness, lectures, and academic publications. Dr. Grosso also provides expert witness services in malpractice actions involving marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, alcohol and drug abuse counselors, certified addictions treatment specialists, and dentists accused of child abuse when providing treatment in the dental office. He also lectures for and consults with mental health organizations. He is an official lecturer on law and ethics and other subjects for the California Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
