I was stunned by a recent experience with the involuntary commitment process. No, for those who think I'm crazy, I was not the one committed. I got a call from a close friend who had been taken to an emergency room against his will.
As Wikipedia puts it: "Involuntary commitment is the practice of placing a person to [sic] a psychiatric hospital or ward against his or her will ...."
My friend had been communicating with a mental health professional. He mentioned suicide, but had never harmed himself, made no mention of a plan, and closed the message with: "But I have to go to work. I'll call you later." Hardly seems like an emergency to me though of course I'm no expert.
Pursuant to NY Mental Hygiene Law § 9.27, an ambulance appeared at his home and took him to an emergency room. His room was strikingly uncomfortable due to the removal of any object he might use to kill himself. While there he was lied to repeatedly by the staff. They lied to me too. They threatened him, and me. They intimidated him and discouraged him from exercising his right to a hearing. They disregarded the laws requiring them to give him proper notice of his rights.
In other words, it was a lot like a criminal prosecution.
From a defense lawyer's perspective, some contrasts between arrest and involuntary commitment stood out to me.
If you're suspected of murdering someone, the police are not supposed to arrest you unless they have probable cause. If, on the other hand, someone thinks you might be a risk of serious harm to yourself, the standard is lower. In fact, it's not even clear what the standard is.
If you are arrested, the police are required to bring you before a "neutral magistrate" (a judge usually) within 24 hours, whether or not you request to see a judge. If you are subjected to involuntary commitment, there's a variety of time periods that might apply if you request a hearing. If you don't request a hearing, it could be a long time. For example, under § 9.39 they can hold you for up to 48 hours on an emergency admission. Then, if they decide to keep holding you, you can request a hearing - in writing - and the hearing should be held within five days. So that's a total of seven days. And again, in a criminal case they have to give you a hearing. It doesn't matter if you ask for it.
Everyone has heard of the Miranda warning. When arrested, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law, but your silence cannot be used against you. The police are also required to give you that warning, and they're further required to make an effort to make sure you understand it. If they fail to warn you properly, any subsequent evidence obtained from you cannot be used against you and you might have a civil rights lawsuit (though it's usually not worth anything).
If you are committed against your will, you do not get read a Miranda warning and you do not have the same right to remain silent. The hospital is required to provide you with written notice of your rights and to post them conspicuously. In practice if they do so the notice is buried among other papers and there is no requirement that they make sure you understand your rights. If you choose to remain silent, your silence will be deemed a lack of cooperation with their evaluation and treatment, and will be used against you in any hearing. My friend did not receive any written notice. When I visited the rights were not posted anywhere I'd call conspicuous - I couldn't find them and I looked for them. There were places where things were posted conspicuously and the relevant rights were not there.
If you are arrested you have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. You are notified of this as part of the Miranda warning. Once you request an attorney, they can't question you without your attorney present.
In involuntary commitment, there is no clear right to an attorney. There are some requirements that the Mental Hygiene Legal Service be notified and they will serve, in a sense, as your public defender. In practice you don't get to see them for a while.
I tried to assist my friend. Hospital staff limited my access to him. They refused to allow me to be present while he was questioned.
When my friend submitted his written request for a hearing, one of the hospital psychiatrists got right in his face and yelled at him. This treatment was not therapeutic.
I fully appreciate the feeling many have that we need to protect those with mental health problems, even from themselves. Similarly, there is a demand to protect the rest of us from them. William Galston argues that in The New Republic, arguing: the law should no longer require, as a condition of involuntary incarceration, that seriously disturbed individuals constitute a danger to themselves or others, let alone a “substantial” or “imminent” danger, as many states do.
Apparently Mr. Galston feels the laws are too lenient on those with mental health problems. The problem with his logic, as with many who cry out for tougher crime laws, is that it ignores the rights of the innocent. My friend was not a danger to anyone. Yes he has a mental health problem. But the hard truth is that mental health problems are commonplace. Galston's approach would take us down a very slippery slope.
We are already too far down that path. It is idiotic that those suspected of being a danger to themselves have less rights than those suspected of actually harming others. Yes it is important to make an effort to protect people with dangerous mental health problems. But it is more important that we ensure this is not abused. Anyone subject to involuntary commitment should have at least the same rights as an arrestee.
And thanks to Winston's comment on facebook, there's another point. When the mental health professional pulls the involuntary commitment trigger, it inherently damages the relationship. That may be necessary at times. But if the process thereafter is unfair, it further damages the relationship between the patient and the entire mental health profession. Future care for this person will be far more difficult.
22 comments:
I have been thinking about the court system in mental health , it was often called the "dog" that does not "bark", obviously the main difference between an arrest and mental health is that generally speaking unless you are really out of it folks don't treat you as guilty of a crime while when you get arrested everybody thinks you are guilty for the most part.
Folks I have spoken to say that nearly 98% of the time courts rule against the person who wants out of commitment in recent cases in the past decade there was a case in which a judge never let anyone out and only in the past 15 years or so have hearings become public.
You do have a right to an independent psychiatrist however the effectiveness of this is debatable or even little known.
Like a criminal conviction or prosecution however is the fact that once you are found insane or committed to a institution it is a bar, for instance it would be a felony for someone committed to an institution to possess a firearm.
I would not use wikipedia for definitions although the definition meets the criteria in NY there are emergency, "voluntary" , involuntary, of course in practice all three are sort of involuntary include the supposed voluntary in which one can be pressured to sign in or in cases of a minor.
This is a topic that is not talked about frequently, folks have spent lots of money diagnosing themselves to avoid enemies making up stories or those would stand to financially gain or rather dislike the person or rather poorly judge them.
Kendra's law is often criticized for what you point out in the last paragraph , side effects of meds , the person who killed kendra webdale had himself checked into psychiatric centers ,budget cuts forced him to be discharged. Folks have threatened kendra's law even among those who are not dangerous or in need of drugs because they do not agree with the mental health professional who may him or herself not be a expert for instance a social worker or a case manager.
i was recently mha'ed.i talked to my pscyh.on 3/29. i was fine i told her my weekend plans.we were in the process of ending our 6+ yrs. of tx.
i saw her briefly as she left work on 3/30, i was dropping off a plant and some plaque magnets for the staff.goodbye gifts.she said the office was still open,just go on upstairs and put them inside.my plan was to leave the box in the lower lobby waiting area,i left my cane in the car to carry the box ,stairs are like mnt.everest to me with my cane,i have parkinsonins syndrom. all was fine. i found out on 4/2/11,when i got my mail that my tx. was terminated on 3/3011. i couldn't get my mail on 4/1/11,because my dr. thought i was a danger to myself others or property? she never called and asked me,i was sleeping.she never called my contact person,to inquire about. she broke dr./pt. confidentiallty and called my brother in boston,who has no clue about my tx,the dr. and i had a very specific protocal about contact with him .so, he calls,and i'm like she had NO right to call you,i didn't give consent,then she called him again to let him know she may need to take further action. then,i start to go back to sleep,and bahm bahm bahm,the sheriffs were here to take me to the ed .on an mha495. they had to leave because the form only had one dr.s's signatures on it. i told the officers that i'll see them back in 20 minutes.and that is what happened.my former dr. whose last previous interactions have been fine, i don't do violence, so, she doesn't see me, the 2nd dr. i never have met. i don't know how he can assess me and sign without evaluating me. so, that freedom of information is a crock,that is if you are receiving care for deppression,we don't count. so, i am in the process of researching what exactly the two signature are responsible for. i just want to see the narrative statements,what they said about be. so, there i was in pysch.ed. it took them 16 1/2 hours to get to me. i got there around like9 am,staff,were getting their coffee, i know alittle bit about hospitols so i told them that i have noon meds that i take.they assured me they would put the order into the pharmacy,noon came and went no meds,then every half hour, i would head towards the desk,ofcourse it wasn't long for them to pull the shade down. i got 1 of 3 meds at 6:30pm. so,i got to talk to a sw,rn,an intern psch. and they called my local contact, the staff asked me why are you here?? i still don't know. there is the obvious "ER DUMP" if you as a clinician want to swiftly and"legally" get a pt. off your caseload and make someone or some agency responsible for your discharge plan of care,its the MHA.works everytime.i am not shutting up about this,our voices don't count "really" so i'm going to have to be loud,too.trin
The only part I have a comment on is the damage done to a therapeutic relationship with an involuntary hospitalization is initiated. It doesn't have to damage the relationship. If a psychologist or psychiatrist does a good job of explaining confidentiality and what it means to break confidentiality (and of course why they may break confidentiality), there is a good chance the patient will understand.
I think that since you are the friend of the person who was involuntarily hospitalized, you only got his/her side of the story. I'm not saying mental health professionals are angels who never make mistakes. But it just sounds like everyone was out to get your innocent friend who was minding his/her own business.
While I agree with your comment about how the relationship can be protected, the rest of your comment about my getting only his side of the story is inaccurate.
I discussed my friend's case directly with three different psychiatrists who were "treating" him at the hospital. I also read the message that my friend had written that triggered the initial commitment.
All three psychiatrists were dishonest, both with my friend and with me. They were extremely hostile to me. They did not like a lawyer sticking up for his client, at least not when it meant challenging them. One of them yelled at my friend, right in his face, after speaking with me.
I have friend who did attempt suicide. 911 was called. He did not want to go, and resisted getting in the ambulance. He was put in 4 point restraints, resisting the whole time. He had taken a number of pills and a lot of alcohol, someone came home early and found him. He was very serious about ending his life.
Then begins the horror story. While being transported one arm came out of the restraint. The other arm and legs were still restrained. The EMS attendent then jumped on his chest and repeatedly punched him in the face, knocking out two teeth. He did not ask the ambulance to pull over, did not ask for assistance to get the patient under control. Just started beating on him.
Then he charged my friend with assault, as the EMS attendent's finger was broken as he was assaulting the patient. So my friend is in hospital - and informed that there is a warrant for his arrest. After being released from the hospital (He was in for few days) he turned himself in. He asked if he could press charges as he was the one assaulted (Huge black eye as well as the broken teeth- which his wife told me he was not in that condition when he was put into the ambulance) He was told the DA would not accept those charges.
This was in NY State - Orleans County.
So instead of being able to focus on getting healthy mentally, he now has the added stress of facing these charges - when he was actually the victim. My concern is that this EMS attendent obviously does not have the capacity for this type of work. If he will assault a restrained patient, who knows what he will do next?????
A few months ago I was seeking help for sleep issues over a six month period.
These issues all started when I contracted lyme disease several years ago.
During this time no one would asist me.
So I wound up moving out of state I was in, to another.
There I lived in hotels as I could not get a place to live right away.
A friend was bringing me to emergency rooms to try and get help for my sleep issue.
I wound up at one hospital was there for like a day and apparently they wanted to get rid of me so they conviently lied and said I was out of control when in fact I was locked in a room and would only knock on the door to either talk with someone or go to the bathroom.
Next thing I know a security officer comes in, Im bound in chains in 3 different places and brought to a state hospital.
While there I was fairly quiet for the most part as not having slept for so long was playing tricks on my mind.
However I was never violent at any time. Next came the Kangaroo Court Hearing where in 30 seconds I was told I would be involuntarily committed to outpatient treatment indefinitely.
Well, I thought isnt that wonderful. Im almost a half century old, never committed a crime my entire life nor have I ever been under a court order for any reason at all, yet I have now become property of a probate court.
My right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness has been severely violated, I was never informed of my right to re examination in the hospital or the outpatient facility and was basically made fun of during my hospital stay by the doctor and social workder.
Interestingly enough the doctor I currently see in outpatient treatment doesnt even have me on meds, thank God for that.
I have and continue to run my own business for 6 years and counting, just got a job on top of it to supplement my income when business is slow, got a new car and yet according to the court order it states,
"lacks sufficient insight or capacity to make responsible decisions with respect to his treatment"
There was no mention of me being a harm to myself or others.
Funny I was seeking help for six months prior to this order. I guess the only insight and capcity I lacked was to attempt get help from the mental health system in the first place.
Does anyone know if my new doctor, who by the way is on my side can assist me in getting this court order overturned in South Carolina?
All the attorneys and or supposed people in the know down here have all given me conflicting opinions and I cant seem to get a straight answer out of anyone what the exact law is and what can be done to asssit me.
I cannot do an appeal as it is supposed to be done within 15 days of the original order.
I looks like I can petition for a right to re examination however this seems to be only able to be done in the original county of where this occured.
One attorney told me Im better off going back to NY and trying to get it overturned up there while another attorney said the only chance i have is to hire an attorney in the county it occured and go from there.
Which is like double jeapordy in the sense that I may go before the same judge and there may be a possibility of getting re examined by the same doctor which is a complete trajedy.
At this point if someone could give me some insight into this I would be greatful as I have no intention of being an involuntary ward of the state for the rest of my life.
hospitals get paid by insurance and or government for each patient they admit and for each day they stay. think they're going to make it easy to get out? doctors have a financial interest in keeping you they're as long as they can. careful what you say this could happen to anyone. of course they're are people who should be in the hospital but rights should be vigourisly proteced more safe gaurds needed. apparently system not working. new laws need to be passed. people given to much power often abuse it. need more checks and balances. someone ought to sue and propose new legistlation to keep this abuse from happening.
re getting a NY IOC order overturned - check with a NY lawyer who has knowledge of this particular area of law, but i have heard that in any case the IOC order is not enforceable outside of the state.
I can honestly relate to your friend, I currently have a case in New York State, I to was admitted to a hospital under a DCS certification after my sister in law had made a malicious allegation from 10 miles from my home while I was celebrating my 21st birthday with family and friends. Later that evening I was greeted by the Dewitt Police t nearly 2 in the morning requesting I submit to a psychiatric evaulation. After some talking I finally went. Then later that evening my girlfriend came to see what had happened, and at the same time she gave birth to our child. I then demanded to see my daughter being born and detested the allegation of having to wait to see a doctor. I was then sedated heavily with medication that nearly killed me due to allergic reactions. I was later admitted that evening. And was to sedated and drunk to be fully evaluated. The admitting doctor admitted he did not see any signs of suicide. But being that I was given a very powerful sedative and sustained allergic reaction, I kept over night. The following day I was re-evaluated and released and not found to be suicidal. Would you believe I was entered into the NICS database as having disbility. No right to due process. To the attorney if you can e-mail me at maximus31k@yahoo.com so I could get some advice thanks!!
This case should be of some interest to you. This psychiatrist thought the patient was delusional. Court found the case troubling for many reasons. The discrepancy between the doctors account of the patient's condition and the patient's actual condition, are very entertaining
PS I think this doc still works at Mid-Hudson Forensic Psych Hospital
The People of the State of New York against D.J.H., Defendant.
I was involuntary committed.
The apparent basis for this was a mild altercation I had with someone with whom I share residence. This person began to verbally abuse me thus provoking me to slight anger. At the time she was engaging in her verbal abuse she was standing within my bedroom doorway, in order to close the door so as to not be subjected to her verbal abuse, I slightly pushed her from the doorway so that it could be closed and I could go to sleep as I had been intending to do just before this person barged into room loudly yelling extremely hurtful insults at me. after having slightly pushed this person from the doorway and closed it I proceeded to go to sleep.
I was awoken two hours later by three or four police officers standing in my bedroom. They stated that the person whom I merely slightly pushed called a mobile crisis team claiming I punched her without any provocation, that I was a clear imminent danger to her person and that she feels this is because of a mental illness.
I was handcuffed, dragged into the back of police vehicle and transported to a hospital. Once at the hospital I was forced to strip before 3 other people (being denied privacy when it was asked for). They then locked me in the psychiatric wing of the hospital. I was livid, as one might imagine (also a pack a day smoker and had not had a cigarette in 3 hours). In this extremely irate state I was sent before the hospital psychiatrist so he could make an evaluation. I was so enraged at this point as well as horribly fiending for nicotine that I honestly don't remember very well what he asked me or what happened. all I remember is the psychiatrist asking me two single rather bizarre questions about spilling milk and breaking glass then leaving the room not telling me anything. I demanded to speak to a lawyer, I was given a request form. I demanded to know when I would be released multiple times and was given no straight answer, just told to "quiet down". finally someone informed me that I would be there for observation the entire night(not being allowed to have cigarette either mind you).
When morning finally arrived, seemed like decades, a nurse came up to me and asked to take blood. I refused and stated I wanted to speak to a lawyer. she walks away without saying a word and promptly returns with 5 or 6 large men and a stretcher. Upon seeing this absurd cavalcade of unnecessary force, I loudly and clearly stated "Oh no! alright! alright! you take the blood, no need to pin me down and restrain me!" I was duly ignored and 5 or 6 large men pinned me down to a stretcher while a nurse injected a sedative which promptly knocked my unconscious. When I regained consciousness I was in a psychiatric ward about 70 miles or so from where I live. I was told nothing about how long I would be there despite asking repeatedly for this information. When I asked when I would be able to speak to the lawyer I requested, I was told "oh, uhh, yeah, she will probably be here within a week". In the meantime I was told I could not refuse the medication they were going to give me, psychotropic drugs. A full week and half, maybe it was two weeks went by before the lawyer came to see me. Several days before she arrived I had been told that if I went through with the legal proceedings I would have to stay at the psychward for much longer than I would if I didn't, that if I didn't request a court hearing I would be able to leave the wretched place within a few days. Having this information, I decided to not go through with the hearing at that time and just get the heck out of the psychward and pursue legal avenues once I was back at home. In retrospect I suppose this was a bit foolhardy as it now seems evident that pursuing legal avenues to get an official declaration of a misdiagnosis is going to be much much more difficult. But I couldn't stand being locked in that place and needed to get back home. If I had stayed there longer, ironically, I would really lost my marbles.
THE INTERMINABLE SUPPRESSIONS OF NATIONAL DISGRACE
As a former new york city police officer,veteran elite combat soldier (Vietnam), and alumnus of Jonn Jay College, I did wake up in a prison medical unit and could bearly breath. I had suffered ordeals : I had been unlawfully arrested for assault (while the very clearly vindicating medical records were suppressed),and I had been unlawfully committed to a mental health institution (as a result of the suppressions of violations of the most fundamental due process rights [including the underlying statute CPL 730.30 : similar to the NYSMHL,sect. 9.27]). Only the contemporaneous scrutiny of professors of psychiatry and their many students (the public),during an ex-parte habeus corpus hearing, saved me from a life in a mental health institution. However, my trial did not have such public oversight nor the resulting true record of the outrageous fundamental rights deprivations that transpired during the trial of the underlying fraudulent indictment(6804.84, N.Y. County). I was tried in the darkest place on earth. I suffered several things: near death from poorly treated asthmatic episodes, the suppressions of criminal events that transpired in courtroom, the willfull deprivations of the fundamental right to the effective assistance of trial counsel, and the deprivation of the right to represent myself. I will win, but decades have past. Therefore, as a result of the foregoing the willfull deprivations of the most essential of all rights appear obvious : The absolute right to contemporaneous public scrutiny (the fundamental right to a public trial) and the public's fundamental right to the resulting events that transpired in the courtroom. The citizens of our nation will not ever know of the persecutions of their fellow
citizens, by any other means.
Please, see a summary of my ordeals: www.liebestadt.com.
I was recently held against my will under "Involuntary Commitment" to a locked-down psychiatric wing of a hospital. A friend who was concerned for me, and misread a situation, called 911 and several officers arrived at my house. Knowing I was of a sane mind, and in no danger of hurting myself or anyone else I attempted to reason with the cops, who responded saying they need to take me in as per protocol, to get me evaluated by a doctor first. I thought it would be just a night in the hospital so I didnt resist and went along with them. The doctors evaluated me, and although I assured them I was fine and had no conditions, or harmful intentions, they admitted me into the locked down wing to get evaluated by another doctor. My loved ones divulged that I had been medicated and treated by a psychiatrist in my teenage years for bi-polar disorder and had suffered suicidal thoughts AFTER being on the medication for a few years. (Which the MD i had been seeing attributed to the medication) I have been SSRI-free and free of any such symptoms for 6 years now. This information probably prompted them to falsely overlook my current and quite obvious well condition, which all my loved ones present attested to. The staff reassured me it would take no more than 72 hours for observation. This article, as well as the rights of patients according to NYS Mental Hygiene Laws helped immensely. I made a request within 48 hours for patient advocacy and to see a lawyer/legal advocate/judge and asked to go before a hearing after the 72 hours passed. All requests were denied or not answered. I was there for just under 7 days, missed work, appointments, etc.
I was smart to speak to a counselor with my insurance company and expressed my situation, that I was being held against my will and I didn't require, nor want treatment. Not the requests of my loved ones to get me out after 72 hours, not my pleads to be released...I'm sure it had to do with the insurance company that got me out. However, the doctors final statement that nothing is wrong with me, nor am I a danger to anyone else is acting against me. My insurance company is only covering 4 out of the 6 days in which I was billed for hospitalization. This is fine; if there is no way out of paying for 2 days, I will. However, I don't feel I should be held legally responsible for the bills of such hospitalization I was forced into.
Would this violate any laws protecting me including the Bill of Attainder laws in the constitution? Can they really go after my "assets" while I am "incarcerated" or held against my will?
Thank you so much, Warren...this article helped greatly and opened up my eyes, that us as US citizens first, then NY state citizens, do not have to fall prey to a Mental Hygiene system meant to protect, however circumvents a lot of personal rights and protections of personalty.
I was recently held against my will under "Involuntary Commitment" to a locked-down psychiatric wing of a hospital. A friend who was concerned for me, and misread a situation, called 911 and several officers arrived at my house. Knowing I was of a sane mind, and in no danger of hurting myself or anyone else I attempted to reason with the cops, who responded saying they need to take me in as per protocol, to get me evaluated by a doctor first. I thought it would be just a night in the hospital so I didnt resist and went along with them. The doctors evaluated me, and although I assured them I was fine and had no conditions, or harmful intentions, they admitted me into the locked down wing to get evaluated by another doctor. My loved ones divulged that I had been medicated and treated by a psychiatrist in my teenage years for bi-polar disorder and had suffered suicidal thoughts AFTER being on the medication for a few years. (Which the MD i had been seeing attributed to the medication) I have been SSRI-free and free of any such symptoms for 6 years now. This information probably prompted them to falsely overlook my current and quite obvious well condition, which all my loved ones present attested to. The staff reassured me it would take no more than 72 hours for observation. This article, as well as the rights of patients according to NYS Mental Hygiene Laws helped immensely. I made a request within 48 hours for patient advocacy and to see a lawyer/legal advocate/judge and asked to go before a hearing after the 72 hours passed. All requests were denied or not answered. I was there for just under 7 days, missed work, appointments, etc.
I was smart to speak to a counselor with my insurance company and expressed my situation, that I was being held against my will and I didn't require, nor want treatment. Not the requests of my loved ones to get me out after 72 hours, not my pleads to be released...I'm sure it had to do with the insurance company that got me out. However, the doctors final statement that nothing is wrong with me, nor am I a danger to anyone else is acting against me. My insurance company is only covering 4 out of the 6 days in which I was billed for hospitalization. This is fine; if there is no way out of paying for 2 days, I will. However, I don't feel I should be held legally responsible for the bills of such hospitalization I was forced into.
Would this violate any laws protecting me including the Bill of Attainder laws in the constitution? Can they really go after my "assets" while I am "incarcerated" or held against my will?
Thank you so much, Warren...this article helped greatly and opened up my eyes, that us as US citizens first, then NY state citizens, do not have to fall prey to a Mental Hygiene system meant to protect, however circumvents a lot of personal rights and protections of personalty.
I was recently held against my will under "Involuntary Commitment" to a locked-down psychiatric wing of a hospital. A friend who was concerned for me, and misread a situation, called 911 and several officers arrived at my house. Knowing I was of a sane mind, and in no danger of hurting myself or anyone else I attempted to reason with the cops, who responded saying they need to take me in as per protocol, to get me evaluated by a doctor first. I thought it would be just a night in the hospital so I didnt resist and went along with them. The doctors evaluated me, and although I assured them I was fine and had no conditions, or harmful intentions, they admitted me into the locked down wing to get evaluated by another doctor. My loved ones divulged that I had been medicated and treated by a psychiatrist in my teenage years for bi-polar disorder and had suffered suicidal thoughts AFTER being on the medication for a few years. (Which the MD i had been seeing attributed to the medication) I have been SSRI-free and free of any such symptoms for 6 years now. This information probably prompted them to falsely overlook my current and quite obvious well condition, which all my loved ones present attested to. The staff reassured me it would take no more than 72 hours for observation. This article, as well as the rights of patients according to NYS Mental Hygiene Laws helped immensely. I made a request within 48 hours for patient advocacy and to see a lawyer/legal advocate/judge and asked to go before a hearing after the 72 hours passed. All requests were denied or not answered. I was there for just under 7 days, missed work, appointments, etc.
I was held for 6 days, one day short of their legal obligation to put me before a hearing by request. This article and researching my rights under NYS mental hygiene law helped greatly.
My loved ones protested against my further care under lock and key past 72 hours, but it seemed to fall unto deaf ears and got nowhere.
I was smart and contacted a counselor from my Insurance company and stated that I neither required, warranted, nor wanted any further care under such hospitalization, and i feel this greatly expedited my release. However it is now working against me. The insurance company is only covering 4 out of the 6 days of hospitalization, which is fine if in the end my hands are tied to pay only 2 days. BUT i feel that neither the insurance company, nor me should have to pay ANY bills, as I was held involuntarily with plenty of time to make a positive assessment that I needed no such treatment.
Is forcing me to pay such bills in violation of any laws protection my rights, whether state or federal? How about laws protecting against bills of attainder? In prison, you are not charged for your housing, care, food, etc.
Thank you so much, Warren. This article helped greatly. It opened my eyes that we are US citizens first, then state citizens and not to fall prey to a system of Mental Hygiene laws that are meant to protect, but should not encroach against personal rights and protection of personalty.
I am a mental health professional and I have sent many people to the hospital for psychiatric evaluations. Just because we send someone to the hospital for an evaluation, that does not mean they will be admitted. the hospital staff makes that decision based on their evaluation.
First, I am sorry for the treatment that has been described in this article and the comments. There are bad employees in my field just like there are bad ones in your field. There is no excuse for that kind of behavior.
Second, many of the people I send are actually grateful in the end because they realize the illness was controlling their behaviors. Many have said that if they were not hospitalized, they have no idea what they may have done in that altered state.
Third, I have seen what happens when people are released from the hospital too soon. Some used trickery, the insurance company, family pressure and lawyers to pressure the hospital to release them. I have seen people released and commit suicide and kill others in their psychotic state. Of course the lawyer and the family doesn't want to take any responsibility when things go badly.
If a staff person someone is behaving unprofessionally, report them in writing. Don't expect the doctor or nurse on the floor to stop everything and manage the situation. They have a hundred other psychotic patients on the wing and reprimanding staff is not their top priority at that moment. CERTAINLY report it at the time, but always follow up with the head of the department.
There are no easy answers in mental illness.
Thanks for your comment. I think you misunderstand the point of my blog post - or I was not clear.
I recognize that mental health professionals have difficult decisions to make. My issue is not with them.
My issue is with the law. A person suspected of being suicidal does not have the same rights under the law as someone suspected of having committed a homicide. Not even close.
They should have at least the same rights, especially the right to remain silent, the right to counsel, and the right to be heard by a neutral magistrate. They should be advised of these rights at the time of their "arrest", and should see a judge within 24 hours, without having to ask.
I was involuntarily incarcerated in a psych ward and the experience was very traumatizing for me. The staff didn't even read my rights and didn't need my mom's consent to have me locked up. I think people who have been involuntarily committed should the right of due process just like someone who has been arrested. Involuntary commitment violates your 5th amendment rights and there should be a law to fix that!
To the mental health professional:Yes, there are "bad people in every profession"...but may I affirm that yours is the very worst. Absolutely the very worst. The law is skirted EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY--on the state AND federal levels--there are no mental health professionals that KNOW THE LAW--ZERO--and this has created the intolerable situation we see. I have a case currently pending before NDNY in Federal Court. The situation was ridiculous, but each and every situation is ridiculous in involuntary commitment. The monied interests and incentives are simply too powerful, as someone pointed out. And the defense of those so committed is as close to nonexistent as can possibly be. Kudos to Warren Redlich here for pointing out this issue. It will be a LIFE ISSUE for me, and I shall be an ACTIVIST for the rest of my life(I have lived 56 years) and have seen too much CRAP. Thank you Warren. We need more like you, because we are simply bulldozed by a gigantic propaganda machine of the mental "health" MEGALOPOLY!!
I have one other thing to say to the mental health professional, who may in fact be DELUDED about what ACT
UALLY GOES ON IN THE HOSPITAL. First of all, in my federal case just filed, let me state this:the hospital program director PARTICIPATED IN THE FALSIFICATION OF RECORDS IN DELIBERATE CRIMINALLY CHARGEABLE FASHION HIMSELF. So the false sense that reporting staff to a higher authority SIMPLY DOES NOT WASH IN THIS SYSTEM. THE HIGHER AUTHORITY HAS TO BE A WATCHDOG--anad in NYS, it most certainly isn't OMH either--OMH being a $# Billion per annum JOBS PROGRAM which employes people who WINK *WIN*WINK*WINK* at any and all ABUSES!! So is there any EFFECTIVE remedy within the system? HELL NO!!
I was "arrested" and committed involuntarily for trying to buy an air ticket without a passport. The port authority police handcuffed me, failed to read me the Miranda warnings or charge me with any crime, and called an ambulance to deliver me and the PA officers to a mental hospital. The PA officers told me that handcuffing people who they are transporting to a mental hospital is their standard operating procedure. I was never accused of being a danger to myself or anyone else, by the police or by the hospital, and I committed no crime, so there was no probable cause for arrest. Now I am suing the hospital for false imprisonment among other things. Can the defendants use anything I said in the entire time I was incarcerated (18 days) in court against me, given that they never Mirandized me? It seems to me the cops did a quarter of an arrest, and the hospital did the final quarter, but they both left out the critical half in the middle about charges and miranda warnings.
Those are good questions for your lawyer.
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