Bronx Family Files Suit Against Hospital Over Son’s Suicide
The New York Daily News reports that the mother of a man from the Bronx is suing the hospital where her son was being treated for depression, paranoia, and being suicidal. The 30-year-old man was allowed to leave the hospital, despite being a danger to himself, and leapt off a building to his death just days after being released. According to the man’s sister, he went to the hospital because he was very depressed and needed help. He had been previously hospitalized for similar problems. The man admitted to doctors at the hospital that he was hearing voices telling him to jump off a building. Just five days before his release, he told staff that he lacked the will to live and felt nothing. Six days before being allowed to leave, two doctors said that he was a danger to himself and others. After being discharged, the man returned to his grandmother’s apartment where he had been living before being hospitalized and jumped from the roof a few days later.
The lawsuit claims that doctors could have obtained a court order to keep the man in the hospital for his own safety. The family’s lawyer says that the discharge notes in the man’s file said that “the paperwork for retention was not submitted in a timely fashion, resulting in the need to discharge the patient.” The suit also alleges that the hospital failed to register the man under Kendra’s Law, which mandates outpatient psychiatric treatment.
The Bronx medical malpractice lawyers at Wingate, Rusotti & Shapiro, LLP can help families who have suffered due to the negligence of a doctor, physician, or other medical professional or facility. Call our attorneys today at 212-986-7353 to set up an appointment to discuss your situation.
