MALINGERING: A DANGEROUS DIAGNOSIS

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Abstract
Karl Kast, a migrant with a bad back, was examined by four Brisbane orthopaedic surgeons who all independently agreed that there was no physical basis for his complaint. After brooding over this for months, he resolved to kill these doctors and shot three (killing two) before taking his own life. This tragedy and its background are summarized, and a second instance is recorded where a surgeon could have been killed by another accident litigant. There is more to emotional disturbance after injury than a mere quest for compensation. Doctors who hold this simple belief may be at risk if they do not carefully handle the rare cases of severe and dangerous mental illness which masquerade as malingering.