The risk of malpractice liability faced by physicians is exacerbated by third-party intrusions such as those encountered in today's managed care environment. The likelihood that a malpractice action will be brought is increased by the interaction among patients, families, or physicians who are at high risk for litigation and situations (eg, denial of treatment benefits by the managed care organization) that create adversity. To prevent the ready translation of resource adversity into an adversarial physician-patient-family relationship, a forensic psychiatric consultation is recommended.