When my sister was in the hospital a few years ago, there was a sign on the wall. Essentially it said any violence toward the staff would result in your eviction. Period. When I first started reading it, I was thinking it was about reporting violence by the staff to the patients. Exact opposite.
And the story says he wanted out. Can they keep him there against his will? Wouldn’t that be another lawsuit?
Sometimes situations like these are problematic on all sides.
“And the story says he wanted out. Can they keep him there against his will? Wouldn’t that be another lawsuit?
Sometimes situations like these are problematic on all sides.”
The short answer is yes, it’s problematic and the hospital and the law are going to advocate for the patient being “right” in that if he says he wants to leave, they cannot hold him against his will unless very high bars of criteria are met and confirmed by legal proceedings. The unfortunate part of life is that people make bad decisions and we must respect those bad decisions, under the law, in most circumstances. It is sad that the relationships here were so difficult that closer tabs were nor being kept by his family, but I wonder if lots of history and burned bridges exist between the son and his family? Anyone can sue for nearly anything. It does not automatically follow that the suits have merit and will be closely considered. Hospital has deepest pockets here so they sue them. Hoping for a nuisance settlement from hospital’s legal team, perhaps?
As a society we need to bring back insane asylums. It is not compassionate, IMHO, to allow mentally ill people to live on the streets because they are mentally ill and substance-abusing. Just my 2 cents here.
My mom had a stroke and went to the hospital. She started getting crazy. Well, my mom was bipolar and they had stopped her bipolar meds. It was such a mess. Then they wanted to release her to me or my brother when she was crazy. We convinced them to let us find care for her, but it was very stressful. My mom was refusing lots of care. Well, she had a stroke and she was off her meds. She was crazy.
My wife is a psychiatrist and was chair of the disruptive behavior committee for a large hospital.
In addition, she often worked the ER and was responsible for involuntary commitments.
You must always protect the patient from themselves and others from them.
Many years ago when I first visited her home, I opened her desk drawer to get a pen and was surprised to find a handful of 45 auto bullets. She does not own a gun.
She explained that she convinced a Vietnam Vet who was suicidal to give her the bullets from his gun. Guns are their security blanket and you only take them away as a last resort.
The medical malpractice attorneys salivate when a person commits suicide as it is easy for the family to sue the Dr for not stopping the suicide.