{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-645.270","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 645.270","heading":"Duty of mental health professional to warn intended victim of patient's","body":"threat of violence.\n(1) No monetary liability and no cause of action shall arise against any mental health\nprofessional or person serving in a counselor role for failing to predic t, warn or take\nprecautions to provide protection from a patient's violent behavior, unless the\npatient has communicated to the mental health professional or person serving in a\ncounselor role an actual threat of physical violence against a clearly identif ied or\nreasonably identified victim, or unless the patient has communicated to the mental\nhealth professional or other person serving in a counselor role an actual threat of\nsome specific violent act.\n(2) The duty to warn or to take reasonable precautions to provide protection from\nviolent behavior arises only under limited circumstances specified in subsection (1)\nof this section. The duty to warn a clearly or reasonably identifiable victim shall be\ndischarged by the mental health professional or person serving in a counselor role if\nreasonable efforts are made to communicate the threat to the victim and to notify\nthe law enforcement office closest to the patient's and the victim's residence of the\nthreat of violence. If the patient has communicated to the mental health professional\nor person serving in a counselor role an actual threat of some specific violent act\nand no particular victim is identifiable, the duty to warn has been discharged if\nreasonable efforts are made to communicate the threat to law en forcement\nauthorities. The duty to take reasonable precautions to provide protection from\nviolent behavior shall be satisfied if reasonable efforts are made to seek civil\ncommitment of the child under KRS Chapter 645.\n(3) No monetary liability and no cause  of action shall arise against any mental health\nprofessional or person serving in a counselor role for confidences disclosed to third\nparties in an effort to discharge a duty arising under this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 645"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=20350","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T21:00:10Z","sha256":"e4cf4c8ddc7b72c362ab175718c52a49cd543d40d273d5132d6044d9b6c3f1ba","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-645.260","next":"us-ky/krs-645.280"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}