{"id":13304,"date":"2026-06-10T16:53:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/blog\/?p=13304"},"modified":"2026-06-10T16:53:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:53:05","slug":"tarasoff-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/blog\/tarasoff-rule\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tarasoff Rule: Why California and Texas Treat Therapist Warnings Differently"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cOn October 27, 1969, Prosenjit Poddar killed Tatiana Tarasoff.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The California Supreme Court began its 1976 landmark opinion with this sensational opening.\u00a0\u00a0What followed quickly became known as the\u00a0\u201cTarasoff rule.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u00a0is\u00a0the Tarasoff Rule?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The events leading to the decision were tragic.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to\u00a0<\/span>Psychology Today<\/span><\/i><\/a>, Poddar was an Indian graduate student at UC Berkeley. He had been seeing a psychologist about his obsession with Tatiana, who he was stalking. Poddar\u00a0reportedly told\u00a0the psychologist that he was going to kill Tatiana. The psychologist did not call Tatiana or her parents. He did, however, call the campus police. They detained Poddar but then released him. Poddar later confronted Tatiana in her kitchen and stabbed her to death with a kitchen knife.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tatiana\u2019s parents sued Poddar\u2019s psychologist, alleging that he had a duty to warn Tatiana and them about Poddar\u2019s threat.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They had an interesting theory. Tatiana\u2019s parents were, in essence, asking\u00a0the court to impose a duty on therapists to ignore patient confidentiality laws and warn potential victims of their patients.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

California\u00a0Law\u00a0Creates a Duty to Protect<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The California Supreme Court took the bait. It found that when a therapist\u00a0determines, or should have predicted, that his patient presents\u00a0a serious danger\u00a0of violence to another, that therapist has a duty to use reasonable care to protect the intended victim against such danger.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the years, this has been referred to as the \u201cduty to warn\u201d or \u201cthe duty to protect.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Texas Takes a Different Approach<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Texas Supreme Court wrote its own landmark decision in\u00a0<\/span>Thapar v. Zezulka<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Thapar was the psychiatrist for Freddy Ray Lilly, who had a history of mental health problems. During one of Freddy\u2019s stays at the hospital, Dr. Thapar wrote in his notes that Freddy \u201cfeels like killing\u201d his stepfather Henry Zezulka, but that he \u201chas decided not to do it but that is how he feels.\u201d Dr. Thapar did not warn Henry or Henry\u2019s wife (and Freddy\u2019s mother) Lyndall.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Freddy killed his stepfather, Henry.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Texas Lawsuit:\u00a0<\/span>Thapar v. Zezulka<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Lyndall sued Dr. Thapar, alleging that he had a duty to warn them about Freddy\u2019s threat. A Texas Court of Appeals agreed, citing the California\u00a0Tarasoff\u00a0rule.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

An opinion from California was cited in a Texas case?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You know where this is going. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On appeal, the Texas Supreme Court noted, a bit disdainfully, that it had never adopted California\u2019s\u00a0Tarasoff\u00a0rule.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It pointed\u00a0out that\u00a0Texas already had a law that addressed this very issue.\u00a0\u00a0Passed a mere 3 years after\u00a0the\u00a0Tarasoff\u00a0decision, the law prohibited a mental health professional from\u00a0disclosing\u00a0a patient\u2019s confidential information unless one of several exceptions applied.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Exceptions to the Tarasoff\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Thapar v. Zezulka\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Decisions<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

One of the exceptions provided that when the professional determined that there was a probability that his patient would injure himself or others, the professional was allowed to\u00a0disclose\u00a0the information to medical, mental health or law enforcement personnel.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Allowed, but not\u00a0required. And the disclosure was not to the intended victim.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Texas Supreme Court reiterated that no statutory or common law duty to\u00a0disclose\u00a0existed.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Where there is no\u00a0common-law\u00a0duty, there is no\u00a0common-law\u00a0liability. Lyndall lost.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As for Poddar, whose actions started it all – he was found guilty of second-degree\u00a0murder, served\u00a0a mere 5 years, had his sentence overturned on appeal, and was deported to India where he married.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hammerle Morris Can Help You Navigate Complex Legal Issues<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Confidentiality, liability, and professional duties can create difficult legal questions, especially when state laws take\u00a0very different\u00a0approaches. Understanding how\u00a0<\/span>Texas law<\/span><\/a>\u00a0applies is critical before making assumptions based on rules from another state.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have questions about Texas law,\u00a0litigation, liability, or\u00a0planning for\u00a0difficult family circumstances,\u00a0<\/span>contact<\/span><\/a>\u00a0the Hammerle Morris team for guidance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Virginia Hammerle<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0is a licensed Texas attorney whose practice includes\u00a0<\/span><\/i>estate planning<\/span><\/i><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span><\/i>probate<\/span><\/i><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span><\/i>guardianship<\/span><\/i><\/a>, and\u00a0<\/span><\/i>litigation<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cOn October 27, 1969, Prosenjit Poddar killed Tatiana Tarasoff.\u201d\u00a0 The California Supreme Court began its 1976 landmark opinion with this sensational opening.\u00a0\u00a0What followed quickly became known as the\u00a0\u201cTarasoff rule.\u201d\u00a0 What\u00a0is\u00a0the Tarasoff Rule?\u00a0 The events leading to the decision were tragic.\u00a0\u00a0 According to\u00a0Psychology Today, Poddar was an Indian graduate student at UC Berkeley. He had been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":13305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13304","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-legal-talk"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Tarasoff Rule | Hammerle Morris Law Firm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how Texas differs from California's Tarasoff rule and what mental health professionals' duty to warn means under Texas law.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/blog\/tarasoff-rule\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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What the Tarasoff Rule Means\u00a0for Medical Professionals<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The court\u2019s decision left medical professionals in a Catch-22. If they\u00a0disclosed\u00a0<\/span>patient confidential information<\/span><\/a>, then the patient could sue them. If they did not\u00a0disclose\u00a0patient confidential information and the patient harmed someone, then the victim could sue them.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the\u00a0<\/span>Tarasoff<\/span><\/i>\u00a0decision, twenty-two states have passed statutes that mandate reporting laws. Another 10 states have imposed a duty to warn under common law.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not Texas.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n