LiPo short circuit protection and charging

[gus789]

Hi Folks,

I am working on a design that runs on a LiPo battery.  Due to space restrictions, the charging circuit (based on the MCP73831 @ 4.2V) is located on a separate board that connects to the target for charging. The battery is charged through a pin header on the device that provides direct access to VBAT and GND. I am concerned that having VBAT exposed on the header may present a small but non-negligible chance that the VBAT and GND header pins may come into contact during use, and would like to add some short circuit protection. 

My question is what is the best way to accomplish this? I am thinking that upgrading the MCP73831 to the 4.5V version and then adding a Schottky diode on VBAT on the target side could be an option. Is there a better way to accomplish this? Thanks!