Looking for some info(For my own personal use) regarding the status of civilally commited patients who commit crimes in the hospital.
There is a patient who has assualted several nurses and they are looking into pressing legal charges against this patient. The patient is on a civil commit on a regular adult psych ward within the state hospital system which also runs the forensic program. What are the chances of the charges coming to light and the patient being sent from a adult unit to a forensic wardwithin the same system? What do you, as an RN, feel about a RN pressing charges against a patient?
Not to give too much detail but the patient is Borderline and not 'psychotic'. Thus the reason they feel the need to have the patient face up for what they are doing.
Hi, why should a person be beyond the law just because of a mental illness, if a diabetic patient assaulted you would that be OK because they have an illness? The person who assaults someone should be charged, it is then up to the court to deem whether or not that they are competent to be tried. At least that's how it should be!!!
I have been assaulted and have filed charges against the patient at the request of my supervisor. The police were polite about it but did not expect anything to come of it. The supervisor was building a case to transfer the patient to another facility and that did happen.
I would be very surprised if any facility were foolish enough to disciplin a staff person for exercising their rights to the protection of the law. That is an expensive law suite just looking to happen. So I don't think anyone need fear being fired. On the other hand, inpatient psych is a place inwhich a person is protected from legal liablity. That's why they are called "asylums". A judge will not be likely to find a psych pt guilty and as a consequence procecution is not likely to happen.
Now if a staff person is injured on the job by a patient and there is reason to believe that the facility is not taking reasonable precautions to prevent this, then a civil case against the employer might be successful.
karynfrances
31 Posts
Hi, why should a person be beyond the law just because of a mental illness, if a diabetic patient assaulted you would that be OK because they have an illness? The person who assaults someone should be charged, it is then up to the court to deem whether or not that they are competent to be tried. At least that's how it should be!!!