Homer v. Lon

599 A.2d 1193 (1992)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

The American Psychiatric Association holds that sexual intimacies between a psychiatrist and his or her patient are unethical and forbidden. The Homers were married in 1966; they have two children who, at the time of the relevant events here, were teenagers. In 1981, Ms. Homer began to suffer from depression. She attempted to commit suicide and was taken to the emergency room. P, a veteran, arranged to have her transferred to Walter Reed Army Hospital. P decided to retain a psychiatrist to perform an initial evaluation and assist in the transfer and selected D. D informed P that Ms. Homer would not receive appropriate treatment at Walter Reed and persuaded him to keep her at Howard County under D's care. For seven weeks, D provided detailed and intimate details on Ms. Homer's problems. P and his daughters 'were often precluded by D from visiting Mrs. Homer' and that they were given little information about her status or treatment. D counseled P that his wife's 'therapy required that she not return home immediately, but that she should live elsewhere.' Ms. Homer was discharged on December 9 and began then to receive outpatient treatment. She returned home on January 15, 1986. In May, following a trip to Germany, Ms. Homer again attempted suicide and was readmitted to the Howard County hospital. P alleges that D 'used the personal and confidential information that he had received from Mr. Homer to seduce Mrs. Homer and become sexually intimate with her, apparently as part of his treatment of Mrs. Homer.' D even eventually employed her as a typist. She became deceptive, untruthful, nervous, and argumentative, and began to talk of divorce. Eventually, she filed for divorce. P eventually discovered the sexual relations between D and Ms. Homer in 1987. The evidence that he then had of it showed that it had been on-going since June 1986. P sued D for a number of issues, one of which was intentional or reckless infliction of emotional distress. The trial court dismissed that action and P appealed.