Need Advice for Hospital abuse

[Dude111]

New Jersey

This s a little long but explains basically what happened while I was in the hospital and is a copy of what I've been sending to lawyers via email on intial contact and have not had any interest to speak of:



Hello, I am looking for a lawyer due to the abuse I suffered while at a local community hospital in New Jersey. While trying to admit myself to a psychiatric impatient unit for self described depression, anxiety, and some personal issues I wound up some how inexplicably strapped down to a gurney for 16 hours in the E.R, and force sedated and kept on gurney against my will for over 3 days with them refusing for me or my father to speak to a patient representative. When we threatened to bring in a lawyer to see what our rights were after being told I'd be in the E.R cubicle on the same gurney for quote "another few days up until an indefinite period of time" they threatened with having me shipped down to a state hospital and made good on that threat within 1 hours time.

When I was signed out of the state hospital by the attending psychiatrist I contacted New jersey Protection + Advocacy and they took a report and their office did an investigation. They told me that based on the hospital's records that they did not follow their own guidelines in that nobody came in to check on me -or- do prescribed exercises of limbs while I was in 4-point restraints for 16 hours AND the E.R doctor signed an order for me to be in those restraints for 24 hrs which is apparently a violation of federal law since an order of forced restraint can only be ordered for 4 hours at a time. Their records also show that I was sleeping most of that time which is true and in fact I was sleeping within 15 minutes of the forced injection and yet 16 hrs later I was still in 4- point restraints even though I was oriented to time, place, person, and was calm and cooperative.

Their own records also show that the county screeners that were called in to assess for involuntary confinement recommended that I be voluntarily admitted to their own hospital's psychiatric inpatient unit but instead they opted to send me to a state hospital even though I was there on my own volition and voluntarily asking to be re-admitted to their psych inpatient unit in which I had just been released from on the prior day after spending 2-1/2 uneventful weeks there. What's even more curious is that no one including my psychiatrist from the inpatient unit came down to speak with me to find out what was going on while I was forced to lie down on the E.R. gurney for those 3 days.

I am a 43 yr old male with a 15 yr history of mild to moderate unipolar depression and general anxiety disorder with no history of psychosis or violence towards myself or others. My only visit to a state psychiatric hospital was because this local hospital sent me there against my wishes and I was signed out by the psychiatrist there after 20 days who said that I should've never of been sent there in the first place which I already knew. The reports that were made by NJP+A shows that the hospital's CEO looked into the matter and has initiated a change in policy due to that investigation.

I have the written reports done by NJP+A and have talked to them on the phone extensively and they're urging me, due to their findings, that I look for a lawyer that handles civil rights violations and/or hospital malpractice.

Thank you.



Anyone have any thoughts on who or where to turn to about this issue?

[ecmst12]

This forum does not make lawyer referrals. Did you have an actual legal question?

[Dude111]

Please, can anyone point me in the right direction with this?

[You Are Guilty]

Originally Posted by Dude111

Please, can anyone point me in the right direction with this?

Someone in NJ is going to hate me, but here ya go:
http://www.njsba.com/lawyer_referral/

[longsally111]

by his own admission, he was medicated. How does the op know he wasnt released from his restraints?

[Proserpina]

Originally Posted by longsally111

by his own admission, he was medicated. How does the op know he wasnt released from his restraints?

OP, have you posted this question before, perhaps with an old account?

If I have time later I'll try and take another look in the archives but this seems very, very familiar.