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The Causes of Minor Suicide: How the Restatement Approach to Foreseeability & Scope of Liability Fails to Act as a Deterrent
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 February 2024
Abstract
Suicide is one of the most common causes of death among individuals younger than eighteen years old. While psychological and social sciences continue to study the causes of the increasing prevalence of suicide in children and teens, the law largely continues to treat suicide as an isolated event. This Note tracks the historical treatment of suicide both under tort and criminal law, supporting the shift away from the traditional view of suicide towards one that more closely aligns with the growing understanding of the many factors that can contribute to a minor’s suicide. Ultimately, this Note argues that many minor suicides should be treated as foreseeable, allowing actions in tort.
Keywords
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- © 2024 The Author(s)
References
1 Tonn v. Moore, No. 1 CA-CV 12-0372, 2013 WL 1858773, at *1 (Ariz. Ct. App. Apr. 23, 2013).
2 Id. (“The gun was stored, unloaded, in an unlocked case hidden under a pile of clothes on a shelf in Amy and Eric’s bedroom closet … The ammunition was hidden separately under a different pile of clothes in the same closet.”) (emphasis added).
3 Id.
4 Id. at *3.
5 Id. at *4; see also id. at *2 (“An intervening cause is a superseding cause when the intervening cause was unforeseeable and, when viewed in hindsight, extraordinary.”).
6 Id.
7 See, infra, Section IIa.
8 See, infra, Section II, passim.
9 Restatement (Third) of Torts: Phys. &; Emot. Harm § 29 (2010).
10 Id.
11 See id. cmt. d (“An actor should be held liable only for harm that was among the potential harms … confining liability’s scope to the reasons for holding the actor liable in the first place.”).
12 Alex B. Long, Abolishing the Suicide Rule, 113 NW. L. Rev. No. 4, 1, 1 (2019).
13 See Tonn, 2013 WL 1858773 at *4 (upholding the grant of summary judgment for the defendants).
14 See, e.g., Vanessa Gardianos, Adolescent Suicide: A Call for Parental Liability, 24 St. Johns J. of Civ. Rts. And Econ. Dev. 201 passim (2009).
15 Examples discussed infra.
16 Restatement (Third) of Torts: Phys. & Emot. Harm § 17 (Am. L. Inst. 2010) (“The factfinder may infer that the defendant has been negligent when the accident causing the plaintiff’s harm is a type of accident that ordinarily happens as a result of the negligence of a class of actors of which the defendant is the relevant member.”).
17 Restatement (Third) of Torts: Phys. & Emot. Harm § 20 (Am. L. Inst. 2010) (“(a) An actor who carries on an abnormally dangerous activity is subject to strict liability for physical harm resulting from the activity … (b) An activity is abnormally dangerous if: (1) the activity creates a foreseeable and highly significant risk of physical harm even when reasonable care is exercised by all actors; and (2) the activity is not one of common usage.”)
18 Restatement (Third) of Torts § 14 (Am. L. Inst. 2010) (“An actor is negligent if, without excuse, the actor violates a statute that is designed to protect against the type of accident the actor’s conduct causes, and if the accident victim is within the class of persons the statute is designed to protect.”).
19 Id.; see also Long, supra note 12, at 777.
20 Long, supra note 12, at 779.
21 See Andrea MacIver, Suicide Causation Experts in Teen Wrongful Death Claims: Will They Assist the Trier of Fact?, 45 J. Marshall L. Rev. 51, 55 (2011).
22 See Long, supra note 12, at 777 (discussing a sixteenth-century British decision describing suicide as an offense “against nature, against God, and against the King”) (see Hales v. Petit, (1562) 75 Eng. Rep. 387, 400 (QB)).
23 See MacIver, supra note 21, at 55.
24 See, supra, Section I.
25 See Scheffer v. R.R. Co., 105 U.S. 249 (1881).
26 See id.
27 See, e.g., Tonn, 2013 WL 1858773; Logarta, 998 F. Supp. 998.
28 Laytart v. Laytart, No. 5-94-11, 1994 WL 463777, at *1 (Ohio Ct. App. Aug. 26, 1994).
29 See id.
30 MacIver, supra note 21, at 55.
31 La Quinta Inns, Inc. v. Leech, 658 S.E.2d 637, 641 (Ga. Ct. App. 2008).
32 Allen C. Schlinsog, Jr., Comment, The Suicidal Decedent: Culpable Wrongdoer, or Wrongfully Deceased?, 24 J. Marshall L. Rev. 463, 465 (1991).
33 R.D. v. W.H., 875 P.2d 26, 29 (Wyo. 1994).
34 Kenneth J. Weiss, et al., Insanity: A Legal and Cinematic Diagnosis, 207(9) J. of Nervous and Mental Disease 749, 749 (2019).
35 Id.
37 See Schlinsog, supra note 32, at 467.
38 Id.
39 Id.
40 Id.
41 Long, supra note 12.
42 See, e.g., Wickersham v. Ford Motor Co., 194 F. Supp. 3d 434, 442 (D.S.C. 2016).
43 Long, supra note 12.
44 Edwards v. Tardif, 240 Conn. 610, 611, 692 A.2d 1266, 1267 (1997); see also Wozniak v. Lipoff, 750 P.2d 971, 983 (Kan. 1988) (holding that known treatment for depression made suicide a foreseeable and actionable result).
45 Gardianos, supra note 14, passim.
46 See, supra, Section I.
47 Restatement (Third) of Torts: Phys. & Emot. Harm § 29 (Am. L. Inst. 2010); see also Restatement (Third) of Torts: Phys. & Emot. Harm 6 Spec. Note (2010) (noting that while courts and commentators typically use the term “proximate cause,” the concept “scope of liability” is likely more accurate when discussing limitations to liability: “Tort law does not impose liability on an actor for all harm factually caused by the actor’s tortious conduct.”).
48 Restatement (Third) of Torts: Phys. & Emot. Harm § 34 (A. L. Inst. 2010)
49 See Tonn, 2013 WL 1858773, at *4.
50 See, e.g., Logarta v. Gustafson, 998 F. Supp. 998, 1004 (E.D. Wis. 1998) (“If such intervening force takes the form of suicide the practically unanimous rule is that such act is a new and independent agency which does not come within and complete a line of causation from the wrongful act to the death and therefore does not render defendant liable for the suicide.”) (internal quotations, citations omitted); R.D., 875 P.2d 26 at 28 (“The general rule with regard to liability for negligent actions which lead to suicide is: The decedent’s intentional and voluntary act in taking his own life is an intervening cause which breaks the chain of causation and precludes a finding of liability against the tortfeasor.”)
51 Restatement, supra note 16.
52 See Restatement, supra note 17.
53 See Restatement, supra note 18.
54 Jacob A. Stein, Stein on Personal Injury Damages § 3:2, 3rd ed. (1997).
55 See, e.g., Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. 13-21-201 – 12-21-204 (West 2021); Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 229 § 2 (West 2021); N.Y. Est., Powers and Tr. Law § 5-4.1 (McKinney 2021).
56 See, e.g., Childers v. Schachner, 612 So.2d 699 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1993) (involving a wrongful death suit brought by a nonnegligent parent against a negligent parent); Burley v. Douglas, 26 So.3d 1013 (Miss. 2009) (wrongful death suit brought by grandfather alleging negligence as the cause of a fatal car accident that killed his grandchildren); In re: Hudspeth Cty., Tex. And the Hudspeth Cty. Sheriff’s Office, No. 08-21-00169-CV, 2021 WL 5078823 (Tex. App. Nov. 2, 2021) (wrongful death suit alleging negligence underlying death due to a fall)
57 See, e.g., How a Wrongful Death Suit Works, AllLaw (last visited Dec. 2022), https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/personal-injury/how-wrongful-death-lawsuit-works.html; Wrongful Death, Justia (last visited Dec. 2022), https://www.justia.com/injury/wrongful-death/; see also Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Massachusetts, NOLO (last visited Dec. 2022), https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/wrongful-death-lawsuits-massachusetts.html; Can I File a Wrongful Death Claim After a Suicide? Salamati Law Firm (last visited Dec. 2022), https://www.salamatilaw.com/wrongful-death/can-i-file-a-wrongful-death-claim-after-a-suicide/.
58 See, e.g., Yardley v. W. Ohio Conf. of the United Methodist Church, Inc., 742 N.E.2d 723, 727 (Ohio 2000) (holding that wrongful death suits could only be brought by a court-appointed administrator, executor, or representative of the decedent’s estate); Renville v. Fredrickson, 101 P.3d 773, 777 (Mont. 2004) (finding that only a personal representative could bring a wrongful death suit under state statute); Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Massachusetts, NOLO (last visited Dec. 2022), https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/wrongful-death-lawsuits-massachusetts.html.
59 Yardley, 742 N.E.2d at 727.
60 Gardianos, supra note 14, at 232-233.
61 See, e.g., Childers, 612 So.2d 699.
62 See, e.g., Broadbent by Broadbent v. Broadbent, 184 Ariz. 74, 76, 907 P.2d 43, 45 (1995) (“No American child had sought recovery against a parent for tortious conduct until the late nineteenth century.”)
63 See id. (citing Streenz v. Streenz, 106 Ariz. 86, 87, 471 P.2d 282, 283 (1970)).
64 See, e.g., Goller v. White, 20 Wis.2d 402, 122 N.W.2d 193 (abolishing parental immunity in Wisconsin – the first state to do so); Gibson v. Gibson, 3 Cal. 3d 914, 918, 479 P.2d 648, 650 (1971) (abolishing parental immunity in California, joining ten other states including Alaska, Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, and Wisconsin); but see Neel v. Sewell, 834 F. Supp. 2d 648, 656 (E.D. Mich. 2011) (declining to abolish parental immunity in Michigan).
65 Gail D. Hollister, Parent-Child Immunity: A Doctrine in Search of Justification, 50.4 Fordham L. Rev. 489, 508 (1982) (“Children are no longer regarded as evil beings who must be beaten down; instead they are viewed as reasonable, friendly people who will not take advantage of their parents if they are treated nicely.”).
66 Falco v. Pados, 444 Pa. 372, 377, 282 A.2d 351, 354 (1971).
67 See id.
68 Restatement (Third) of Torts: Concluding Provisions § 2 TD No 1 (2022) (emphasis added).
69 See, e.g., Nolasco v. Malcom, 307 Neb. 309, 309, 949 N.W.2d 201, 202 (2020); see also § 3. Liability of parents, O’Connor’s Texas Family Law Handbook Ch. 1-D § 3 (2023 ed.).
70 Id.at 201; see also id. passim (discussing the death of Daniel Scruggs in 2002, the parental neglect preceding the suicide, and the criminal prosecution that followed).
71 Id. passim.
72 See id.
73 See id.
74 Id. at 201.
75 Commonwealth v. Carter, 481 Mass. 352, 115 N.E.3d 559 (2019); see also, e.g., Daniel Kreps, Elle Fanning Stars as Notorious Teen Texter Michelle Carter in ‘The Girl from Plainville’ Trailer, Rolling Stone (Mar. 2, 2022), https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/the-girl-from-plainville-michelle-carter-hulu-series-1315385/ (describing the forthcoming Hulu Original drama recounting this case).
76 Alanna Durkin Richer, Conviction Upheld for Woman Who Urged Boyfriend’s Suicide, AP News (Feb. 6, 2019), https://apnews.com/article/north-america-us-supreme-court-ma-state-wire-us-news-ap-top-news-abd449bd66274f698e9ff4d4c2247a8e; Bob McGovern, McGovern: Michelle Carter Case Set to Make Legal History, Boston Herald (June 16, 2017), https://www.bostonherald.com/2017/06/16/mcgovern-michelle-carter-case-set-to-make-legal-history/.
77 Richer, supra note 76.
78 Id.
79 Id.
80 Carter, 481 Mass. 352, 115 N.E.3d 559 at 568 (Until the victim got out of the truck, the… the victim [was] the cause of his own suicidal actions and reactions”).
81 Richer, supra note 76.
82 Id.
83 Id.
84 Carter, 481 Mass. 352, 115 N.E.3d 559 at 568 (This period of “self-causation” and “self-help,” which is completely consistent with his prior behavior, ended when [Roy] got out of the truck”).
85 Richer, supra note 76.
86 McGovern, supra note 76.
87 Ray Sanchez & Natisha Lance, Judge Finds Michelle Carter Guilty of Manslaughter in Texting Suicide Case, CNN (June 17, 2017), https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/16/us/michelle-carter-texting-case/index.html.
88 McGovern, supra note 76 (“We want to punish those who break from social norms and hurt others, and it’s clear popular opinion is against Carter”).
89 Mark Tunick, Texting, Suicide, and the Law passim (2020).
90 See Gardianos, supra note 14, passim.
91 Angelakis, et al., Association of Childhood Maltreatment With Suicide Behaviors Among Young People, JAMA Network Open (Aug. 5, 2020).
92 See Child Welfare Information Gateway, What is Child Abuse and Neglect? Recognizing the Signs and Symptoms, Children’s Bureau (Apr. 2019) at 2 [hereinafter Child Welfare Gateway].
93 See id.; 42 U.S.C. 5101 note, § 3.
94 110 Mass. Code Regs. 2.00.
95 See, e.g., Child Welfare Information Gateway, State Statutes Search (Accessed Dec. 2022), https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-policies/state/?CWIGFunctionsaction=statestatutes:main.getResults [hereinafter Gateway Statute Search].
96 See, e.g., Jaffar Diab, Child Abuse, Experts and the Law: Making Massachusetts Expert Evidence Friendly, 37 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 121, 123 (2004).
97 Pennsylvania v. Ritchie, 480 U.S. 39, 60, 107 S. Ct. 989, 1003, 94 L. Ed. 2d 40 (1987) (“Child abuse is one of the most difficult crimes to detect and prosecute, in large part because there often are no witnesses except the victim.”).
98 Id.
99 Com. v. Costello, 411 Mass. 371, 376, 582 N.E.2d 938, 941 (1991) (analyzing victim statements in the context of hearsay rule exceptions) but see State v. Smith, 315 N.C. 76, 90, 337 S.E.2d 833 (1985) (deeming the excited utterance exception to allow admission of victim statements if made within the first several days after the assault).
100 See, e.g., PLAINTIFF v. REMILLARD, JVR No. 67074; WHITE, PRO AMI v. VEZINA, JVR No. 221069.
101 See, e.g., People v. Carroll, 95 N.Y.2d 375, 2000 WL 1726388 (2000); Seering v. Department of Social Services, 194 Cal. App. 3d 298, 239 Cal. Rptr. 422 (1st Dist. 1987) (allowing expert testimony of the general characteristics associated with Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome (CSAAS)).
102 World Health Organization, Suicide Data 2018, (Accessed Dec. 2022) https://www.who.int/mental_health/
prevention/suicide/suicideprevent/en/; see also Angelakis, supra, note 91.
103 Deborah M. Stone et. al., Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Changes in Suicide Rates – United States, 2018-2019, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Feb. 26, 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7008a1.htm#contribAff
104 Id.; see also Roni Caryn Rabin, U.S. Suicides Declined Over All in 2020 but May Have Risen Among People of Color, N.Y. Times, Apr. 19, 2021, at A6.
105 Suicide, National Institute of Mental Health (last visited Dec. 2022), https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide [hereinafter NIMH on Suicide].
106 Id.
107 Id.
108 See WISQARS, Leading Causes of Death Visualization Tool, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (last visited Dec. 2022), https://wisqars.cdc.gov/data/lcd/home
109 NIMH on Suicide, supra note 105.
110 See Keith Hawton, et al., Clustering of Suicides in Children and Adolescents, Lancet Child Adoles. Health (2019) (citing clusters of suicidal behavior in schools, universities, psychiatric units, and youth offender units).
111 Jamie Ducharme, Suicide Deaths are Often Contagious. This May Explain Why, Time (2019), https://time.com/5572394/suicide-contagion-study/.
112 See Frequently Asked Questions About Suicide, National Institute of Mental Health (last visited Dec., 2022) [hereinafter NIMH FAQs] (citing substance abuse, chronic pain, and physical or sexual abuse as contributing factors to suicide, among others).
113 Robert Olson, Suicide and Language, Centre for Suicide Prevention (last visited Dec. 2022), https://www.suicideinfo.ca/resource/suicideandlanguage/.
114 Id. (noting the phrase “commit suicide” likely stems from the historical period wherein suicide was a crime, and that a similar stigma remains).
115 Compare the phrase “they committed suicide” with “they died by suicide.” In the former, the deceased individual is the sole actor. In the latter, more neutral phrase, the implication that the action is solely that of the deceased is far less strong.
116 See, e.g., Does depression increase the risk of suicide?, U.S. Dep’t of Health and Hum. Serv. (last visited Dec. 2022), https://www.hhs.gov/answers/mental-health-and-substance-abuse/does-depression-increase-risk-of-suicide/index.html.
117 Id.
118 NIMH FAQs, supra note 112.
119 Id.
120 Jan Brogan, Teen’s brains make them more vulnerable to suicide, The Bos. Globe, March 10, 2014, https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2014/03/09/brain-development-makes-teens-more-vulnerable-suicide-and-mood-disorders/tGBStHOnjqAyanfCe7rbsK/story.html (“The hippocampus and amygdala…[which] feels and stores emotions…matures well ahead of the section of the brain that regulates those emotions and impulses.”)
121 Nim Tottenham & Adriana Galván, Stress and the Adolescent Brain: Amygdala-Prefrontal Cortex Circuitry and Ventral Striatum as Developmental Targets, Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 1, 6 (2016).
122 Brogan, supra note 120.
123 Rebecca E. Martin & Kevin N. Ochsner, The Neuroscience of Emotion Regulation Development: Implications for Education, Curr. Opin. Behav. Sci., 1, 2 (2016).
124 Id. passim.
125 See Graham Thornicroft, Stigma and Discrimination Limit Access to Mental Health Care, 17 Epidemiology Psych. Sci. 1, 1 (2008).
126 See, e.g., Adryan Corcione, How to Find a Therapist When Your Parents Won’t Help, Teen Vogue (Aug. 29, 2017), https://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-to-find-therapist-parents-wont-help (“It can be extremely difficult for a teen to admit to their parents they want to seek therapy, especially if the parents already have preconceived idea of what therapy actually is.”)
127 See, e.g., Id.
128 Jeremy Divinity, Never be Ashamed of Seeking Help, National Alliance on Mental Health, https://www.nami.org/Personal-Stories/Never-Be-Ashamed-of-Seeking-Help (“[Those seeking mental health help] don’t want to be defined as weak or incompetent, or even worse, seen as unable to take care of ourselves”).
129 Id. (This [stigma] was something that I believed and it prevented me from ever stepping foot in a therapist office…which in turn, prolonged my recovery”).
130 See, e.g., My parents won’t let me go to therapy even though I need it. What do I do?, Quora, https://www.quora.com/My-parents-wont-let-me-go-to-therapy-even-though-I-need-it-What-do-I-do (Shirley Huang: “I talked to my parents everyday about therapy to the point where I was crying, and disappointed”) (Mary Dickson: “My parents won’t let me go [to therapy] because it costs money and think I can just talk to them, like it’s that easy…its [sic] like living in hell”) (Anonymous: “My parents are telling me that I should ‘grow up’ and control myself”) (Anonymous: “[My mother] thinks I’ll get her in trouble”); see also My parents say they won’t get me a therapist, I’m 16 and depressed, badly. Is there any other way to get one?, Quora, https://www.quora.com/My-parents-say-they-wont-get-me-a-therapist-Im-16-and-depressed-badly-Is-there-any-other-way-to-get-to-one; I’m a minor and I need mental help pretty urgently. I’ve told my parents but they won’t get me a therapist. What do I do?, Quora, https://www.quora.com/I-m-a-minor-and-I-need-mental-help-pretty-urgently-I-ve-told-my-parents-but-they-won-t-get-me-a-therapist-What-do-I-do.
131 See David Kealy, Matt S. Treeby, & Simon M. Rice, Shame, Guilt, and Suicidal Thoughts: The Interaction Matters, 60(3) British J. of Clinical Psych. 414, 414 (“Findings emphasize consideration of generalized shame and guilt - and their interaction - when working with patients exhibiting suicidal thoughts”).
132 See, e.g., I’m Under the Age of 18; Does My Parent Have to Give Permission for Me to Go to Therapy?, GoodTherapy (last visited Dec. 2022), https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/faq/does-my-parent-have-to-give-permission-for-me-to-go-to-therapy (noting the potential obstacle parental consent laws can pose to teens seeking help).
133 See, e.g., Ray Glier, Seeking Mental Health Support: Teens Helped Pass New Law to Access Mental Health Care Without Parental Consent, Youth Today (Mar. 4, 2016), https://youthtoday.org/2016/03/seeking-mental-health-support-teens-helped-pass-new-law-to-access-mental-health-care-without-parental-consent/ (describing the successful teen efforts to remove parental consent requirements for therapy in New Jersey: “Then, we were at a field trip at a medical center, and I realized I needed help … But when I tried to go into therapy, my mother refused, so that’s where a lot of the idea [to change the law] came from.”) (quoting teen activist Jordan T.).
134 See, e.g., GoodTherapy, supra note 132.
135 See Glier, supra note 133 (“It happened all because a teen in need got busy with his peers in an after-school group and they worked to change the law”).
136 HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS—CHILDREN AND MINORS—CONSENT, 2015 NJ Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 287 (ASSEMBLY 3435) (WEST)
137 Glier, supra note 133.
138 Boys and Girls Club Keystone Law, New Jersey Department of Children and Families, chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.nj.gov/dcf/families/Keystone-Law-FAQ.pdf (last visited Dec. 2022).
139 See id.
140 See id.
141 See Abigail English and Carol A. Ford. “Adolescent Consent and Confidentiality: Complexities in Context of the 21st Century Cures Act.” Pediatrics 149.6 (2022).
142 See Thornicroft, supra note 125.
143 See Types of Therapy, Psych. Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/types-of-therapy (last visited Dec. 2022) (listing seventy different types of therapy as diverse as art or music therapies as well as more traditional psychoanalysis).
144 See Different Approaches to Psychotherapy, Am. Psych. Ass’n, https://www.apa.org/topics/psychotherapy/approaches (last visited Dec. 2022) (“A theory of psychotherapy acts as a roadmap for psychologists: It guides them through the process of understanding clients and their problems and developing solutions”).
145 See id.
146 See, e.g., id.
147 See, e.g., id.
148 Reardon, T., Harvey, What Do Parents Perceive are the Barriers and Facilitators to Accessing Psychological Treatment for Mental Health Problems in Children and Adolescents? A Systematic Review of Qualitative and Quantitative Studies, 26 Eur. Psych Child. & Adolescent., 623, 642 (2017).
149 Id.
150 Goldstein, When Can a Parent Deny Medical Treatment to a Minor Child?, LawInfo, Jan. 29, 2021, https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/insurance/health-insurance/when-can-a-parent-deny-medical-treatment-to-a.html.
151 Id.
152 See e.g., Angelakis, et al., supra note 91.
153 See, e.g., id. at 1.
154 Id. (citing Wildeman C., et al., The Prevalence of Confirmed Maltreatment Among US Children, 2004 to 2011, JAMA Pediatr. 2014;168(8):706-713.).
155 Child Welfare Information Gateway, Long-Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect, Children’s Bureau (Apr. 2019).
156 Id. at 2.
157 See, e.g., Katie Willart Virant, Suicide and Chronic Illness, Psychology Today (Sep. 14, 2021), https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/chronically-me/202109/suicide-and-chronic-illness.
158 See Child Welfare Information Gateway, supra note 155 at 2.
159 Id.
160 Id. at 3.
161 See, e.g., Survivor Stories, RAINN (Accessed Dec. 2022), rainn.org/STORIES.
162 The Relationship Between Bullying and Suicide: What We Know and What It Means for Schools, National Center for Injury Prevention Control (2014), chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/yv/bullying-suicide-translation-final-a.pdf.
163 Gardianos, supra note 14.
164 See id.
165 See id.
166 See id. at 206.
167 Id. at 208.
168 Hepp, et al., Methods of Suicide Used by Children and Adolescents, Eur. Child Adolescent Psych. 2012 Feb;21(2):67-73
169 National Institute of Mental Health, Understanding the Characteristics of Suicide in Young Children (Dec. 14, 2021) https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/research-highlights/2021/understanding-the-characteristics-of-suicide-in-young-children (95.5% of minor suicides occur at home, 65.6% of those in the child’s bedroom) [hereinafter NIMH Youth Suicide Characteristics].
170 Id.
171 Id. (Firearm deaths account for 18.7% of suicide deaths of minors, per NIMH research).
172 Id.
173 See id.
174 See, e.g., Project Childsafe, A Guide to Responsible Gun Ownership, Safe Handling and Secure Storage, (Accessed Dec. 2022).
175 See id.
176 See id.
177 See Song Strong, Safe Gun Storage is a Bipartisan Issue (Interactive Map), https://www.songstrong.org/safe-gun-storage-laws-by-state/ [hereinafter Song Strong Interactive Map].
178 Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 140, § 131L (West)
179 Id.
180 Id.
181 N.Y. Penal Law § 265.45 (McKinney).
182 Id.
183 See Song Strong Interactive Map, supra note 177.
184 See id.
185 Id.
186 See H.R. 748, 117th Congress (2021).
187 Id. at 4.
188 The Office of Governor Ned Lamont, Governor Signs Ethan’s Law to Strengthen Requirements on the Safe Storage of Firearms in the Home, State of Connecticut (June 13, 2019), https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Press-Releases/2019/06-2019/Governor-Lamont-Signs-Ethans-Law-to-Strengthen-Requirements-on-the-Safe-Storage-of-Firearms.
189 See Song Strong Interactive Map, supra note 17.
190 See id.
191 See Actions Overview H.R. 748 – 117th Congress (2021-2022), congress.gov (Accessed Dec. 2022), https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/748/actions?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22ethan%27s+law%22%2C%22ethan%27s%22%2C%22law%22%5D%7D.
192 See H.R. 748, supra note 186 at 1.
193 Id. at 2.
194 Id.
195 Id.
196 Id. at 4.
197 Id. at 5.
198 Id. at *3.
199 Though Adam Tonn had seen a psychologist for behavioral issues prior to his death, there was no evidence Adam sought additional help that was not forthcoming. Tonn, 2013 WL 1858773 at *3. This section, instead, discusses possible obstacles to suicide prevention, generally.
201 See, e.g., Tonn, 2013 WL 1858773 at *3.
202 See, supra, Section IIa (noting the erosion of the suicide rule).
203 Tonn, 2013 WL 1858773 at *3.
204 Id. at 202-203.
205 See, e.g., Michael Frakes & Anupam B. Jena, Does Medical Malpractice Law Improve Health Care Quality? 143 J. Pub. Econ. 142 (2016) (contextualizing medical malpractice liability as setting the standard of care and, potentially, therefore, improving general quality of care).
206 See NIMH FAQs, supra note 112 (outlining some potentially beneficial treatments only available through proactive action, such as certain therapies).
207 Id.
208 See, e.g., Donna J. Dempster, Minor’s Lawsuit Against Parents for Abuse, 18 J. Juv. L. 305 (1997) (describing a case hinging on the statute of limitations for cases of sexual abuse by parents against minors).
209 Teen Suicide, Stanford Children’s Health (last visited Dec. 2022), https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=teen-suicide-90-P02584.
210 See WISQARS, supra note 108.