The duty to warn applies to which risk?

The duty to warn applies to which risk?

• A. Financial harm
• B. Emotional distress
• C. Risk of serious physical harm
• D. Property damage

Answer: (C)

The key idea is protecting someone from a real, credible threat of violence. The duty to warn comes into play when a client expresses a plan to seriously harm another person (or themselves), and there is a reasonable probability that the threat could be carried out. In those cases, professionals are ethically and often legally required to take steps to safeguard potential victims, which can include warning the person at risk or notifying authorities, and taking action to reduce the danger. It isn’t triggered by concerns about financial harm, emotional distress, or property damage, even though those issues may be serious; they don’t represent a direct threat to physical safety that would invoke the duty to warn.

The key idea is protecting someone from a real, credible threat of violence. The duty to warn comes into play when a client expresses a plan to seriously harm another person (or themselves), and there is a reasonable probability that the threat could be carried out. In those cases, professionals are ethically and often legally required to take steps to safeguard potential victims, which can include warning the person at risk or notifying authorities, and taking action to reduce the danger. It isn’t triggered by concerns about financial harm, emotional distress, or property damage, even though those issues may be serious; they don’t represent a direct threat to physical safety that would invoke the duty to warn.