Santa Fe man with schizophrenia files lawsuit against Christus St.Vincent
Aug. 14—A Santa Fe man with schizophrenia is suing Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, saying hospital staff drugged him and held him against his will though he posed no threat to himself or others.
Civil rights attorneys Daniel Yohalem, Richard Rosenstock and Katherine Murray filed a complaint on the man's behalf Aug. 9 in state District Court accusing the hospital of unlawful involuntary commitment, false imprisonment and battery.
The complaint seeks an unspecified amount in damages for the 52-year-old plaintiff — whom The New Mexican is not naming because he is an alleged victim of civil rights violations — saying he is a lifelong resident of Santa Fe "with deep roots in the community."
The man has suffered from schizophrenia — a mental illness that often causes disordered thinking and delusions or hallucinations — for many years, the complaint says.
"His condition causes him to hear voices and to sometimes respond out loud to those voices," according to the lawsuit.
"Despite his schizophrenia, [he] is high functioning, highly intelligent, possess excellent interpersonal skills, has held a number of responsible jobs, drives his car to his job and errands around Santa Fe for himself and his mother and participates in the civic and cultural life of Santa Fe," the lawsuit says.
The complaint says the man was in his home Sept. 4, 2018, when a neighbor called police to report that he was "yelling loudly" around 2:45 a.m.
When police and medical responders arrived, the complaint says, the man was "respectful, cooperative, and not threatening in any manner."
He had no history of violent conduct, and officials had no evidence he was a danger to himself or anyone else, the lawsuit says, but police still handcuffed him and took him to the hospital for an "involuntary emergency mental health assessment."
Once at the hospital, the complaint says, the man waited calmly while hospital employees and contractors took custody of him from police, "refused to consent to any medical care and repeatedly expressed his desire to return home."
Despite this, the lawsuit says the hospital held the man against his will for four days, subjecting him to false imprisonment, extreme emotional distress, assaults, batteries and repeated involuntary administration of psychotropic drugs.
The lawsuit says the actions of hospital staff and contract employees violated laws regarding involuntary commitments, which require a finding by a physician or psychologist that someone is a danger to themselves or others before committing them to a mental health unit against their will. None of the reports regarding his interactions with police contain any allegations that he represented a threat to himself or anyone else, the lawsuit says.
Hospital employees also violated the Mental Health Care Treatment Act, which prohibits administering psychotropic medication to patients "without proper consent," according to the complaint. An individual shall not be deemed incapable of making their own medical decisions solely because they chose not to accept recommended treatment, the lawsuit says.
In one instance, the complaint says, the man was held down by two security guards and forcibly injected with Haldol — a powerful psychotropic drug — ordered by a doctor who hadn't met or examined him, and in another instance he was administered more medication as he slept despite resting peacefully for the previous eight hours.
One doctor falsified her report regarding the man, his lawsuit says, falsely noting in his chart that he was in the hospital for treatment voluntarily, "which was a complete fabrication."
During the ordeal, the lawsuit says, the man repeatedly said he wanted to go home and felt his rights were being violated.
The man filed a civil complaint against the city of Santa Fe regarding the actions of police in February 2020. That case was dismissed in November after the city agreed to pay him $52,000 to drop the lawsuit, according to documents obtained by The New Mexican.
Rosenstock said Friday there was plenty of blame to go around in the case.
"Yes, the cops screwed up, but the hospital had the ability to examine him and say go home," Rosenstock said. "Police didn't keep him there for four days. They set it all in motion, they were the cause of it, but they weren't the only cause. These people should have known better. ... People should be trained on how to deal with this. You don't just commit everybody."
"While CHRISTUS St. Vincent cannot comment on pending litigation, we always strive to provide care that is appropriate and beneficial to the well-being and healing of all of our patients," spokesman Arturo Delgado said in an email Friday.
