PATIENTS ARE ENTITLED TO MINIMALLY ADEQUATE TREATMENT IN STATE HOSPITALS

By Jack Landskroner

Settlement provides patients with supportive living environments they need.

Based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision recognizing the right to minimally adequate treatment in state hospitals, Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (TLPJ), the nations only public interest law firm specializing in precedent setting damage and trial litigation has filed an action in the state of New Mexico and succeeded in obtaining benefits for patients who were improperly treated in mental health institutions.

The suit charges New Mexico with negligence for failing to provide treatment programs geared toward the special needs of six plaintiffs and dual diagnosis patients in general. The suit contends that this mistreatment robbed patients of potentially rewarding life in society, and led to significant worsening of their conditions. It charges that, because of this failure the patients suffered serious physical and psychological injuries, embarrassment, humiliation, mental distress, fear, anxiety and emotional suffering.

The suit catalogues how the six plaintiffs, because of their unique disabilities, were routinely misdiagnosed, mistreated, abused, and negligently institutionalized. In several cases, patients with potential for rehabilitation were left languishing in the state hospital for years without a program for treatment. In other cases, the state discharged patients without proper preparation to unsupervised and inadequate boarding houses, which resulted in harm to the patients, and forced re-institutionalization. Once back in the hospital, the cycle of mistreatment continued.

Felicia Botello, for example, spent years languishing in various mental hospitals and living on the street. Now she finally has a place she can call home. Botello, who has been diagnosed with mild mental retardation, a personality disorder, paranoid schizophrenia, and chemical dependencies, is one of the six plaintiffs in the New Mexico action. Botello now lives in a private home that she shares with another patient. She is supervised by a staff of around the clock medical aides who are helping develop skills that will increase her independence. Botello takes anti-psychotic drugs and sees a psychiatrist once a month. These changes have made a remarkable difference in her life. Says Botello, "I’ve had quite a hard time. It just happened that way, you know? Now that I’m living here I’m doing okay... I’m doing pretty good."

That is a far cry from the years of neglect she suffered in the hands of the state mental health officials. Over the years she has lived at the Children’s Psychiatric Hospital, group homes, the Las Vegas Medical Center, a traditional living services facility, a homeless shelter and the county jail. During that time she rarely received the care that she needed and her conditions worsened to the point that she often became incoherent.

Estimates of the number of homeless people in the Greater Cleveland area exceed ten thousand, one third of whom suffer from some form of severe mental illness. Many of these individuals end up in homeless shelters and frequently wind up in the Cuyahoga County or the City of Cleveland lock up. The North Coast Behavioral Psychiatric Institute (formerly CPI) is the only state run facility in the Greater Cleveland area. North Coast Behavioral Psychiatric Institition maintains two campuses that house approximately 500 people and treats as many patients as it can handle. Unfortunately, the number of people, especially the homeless, who need treatment far exceeds the capabilities of this state run facility.

Today, after TLPJ attorneys settled the injunctive relief portion of Botello v. Las Vegas Medical Center et al., Botello and others named in the New Mexico suit are receiving the specialized attention they need.

TLPJ’s litigation’s team in the Botello case has also leveraged the damages portion of the suit to obtain continuing support for each of the clients with competent, independent advocates to assure proper ongoing care. Because the clients are receiving Social Security and other government benefits, an award of money damages is not as beneficial as the assurance of ongoing care. This suit is one of the first in the country on behalf of patients who were improperly treated in mental health institutions.

"The goal of this suit was to get these folks out of institutions and into community care" said TLPJ Co-Counsel, Daymon Ely of Albuquerque. "Using the real threat of damage awards has enabled us to assure ongoing care with independent monitoring by competent overseers."

Under Ohio law, if a person is placed in a facility for the purpose of treatment, he is entitled to “minimal adequate treatment” which includes a humane and therapeutic environment, qualified staff in sufficient numbers, and an individualized treatment plan which includes therapeutic programs and activities. This includes the right to receive professional care within twenty days of their hospitalization; a written treatment plan and treatment consistent with its provisions; humane care and treatment; and the right to obtain information regarding treatment.

Persons who have been institutionalized also have rights as patients which include: the right to be treated with consideration and respect; the right to reasonable protection from assault and battery while hospitalized; the right to receive visitors and to communicate freely with others; and the right to reasonable privacy and social interaction.

Trial Lawyers for Public Justice utilizing a network of over 1500 of the nation’s outstanding trial lawyer maintains a wide ranging litigation docket in the areas of toxic torts, environmental protection, consumer rights, worker safety, civil rights and civil liberties and the production of access to the courts. Fore more information contact Jack Landskroner, State Coordinator.

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