Mental Hospital Patient Alleges Abuse; Sues For $2 Million

In an out-of-state mental hospital, a patient is accusing the hospital staff of subjecting her to sexual abuse and is seeking more than $2 million in damages. Now this is just a lawsuit filed, and the allegations are SHOCKING, but whether or not these are true it highlights an important issue that appears every so often: We need to ensure the preservation of the rights and safety of individuals in mental hospitals. From the groundbreaking incident at the Willowbrook Institution (see https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87975196) to more recent allegations of abuse at New York facilities, this is becoming a more common issue.

In this individual lawsuit, the patient alleges that the hospital staff had drugged her and subjected her to isolation when she complained of the incidents and tried to report them. The lawsuit alleges that it caused her injury to severe emotion distress as well, and that her woman’s civil rights were also affected. She has named 6 defendants in the lawsuit as well, again as I have posted last week, to widen the net for the best possible recovery.

I hope that cases like this will really highlight the issues because they are not New York specific; this could happen anywhere. There needs to be more oversight and checks for this specific population and in these hospitals to ensure we are treating everyone with the proper dignity we human beings deserve.

But what do you think? I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment or I also welcome your phone call on my toll-free cell at 1-866-889-6882 or you can drop me an e-mail at jfisher@fishermalpracticelaw.com . You are always welcome to request my FREE book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrights.com.