When patients are released from a mental hospital, there are times it is due to financial reasons and in some situations it is because the mental health professionals providing the patient’s care are unaware of the suicide condition of the patient.

The purpose of mental health hospitals is to provide psychiatric patients that are seriously ill with the best possible environment to get better. Unfortunately, there are mental health hospitals that sometimes discharge patients that are in no way ready to go home, and it is frequently because of financial reasons. Read more.

Early Release Patients are At a High Risk for Suicide

When adequate arrangements have not been made prior to a patient’s release, or when patients that are high risk for attempting suicide, the hospital may be held responsible if it results in the injury or death of the patient or others. Lawyers carefully investigate cases that involve ‘remarkable recoveries’ that seem to occur at the same time the patient’s insurance money is no longer being paid.

While it may seem as if the patient’s condition has improved during their hospital stay, the circumstances causing the hospitalization may still exist. Clinicians need to focus on how they can avoid discharges that are ‘doomed to fail’. This can be done by determining changes that have or have not occurred in regards to the patient’s current situation as compared to their situation before they were admitted.

It is widely known that the time immediately following a patient’s release from a mental health hospital setting is a time that is of the highest risk for suicide. The investigations into deaths occurring at this time due to suicide often find the following problems:

• Inadequate assessment of the patient’s readiness to be released
• Issues with post-discharge planning and a lack of communication
• Problems with transitioning to a level of care that is less restrictive

Why Lawsuits are Necessary

When it is based on economic concerns, the discharge policy of a hospital may be grounds for a lawsuit involving negligence. The discharge of a patient that is premature can have consequences that are tragic. Some specialist lawyer can provide clients with the help they need to ensure the negligent party is held accountable for their wrongdoing. If a premature hospital discharge has caused you to lose a member of your family, a claim for compensation can be made. While money cannot bring a loved one back, it can help to compensate for pain and suffering, lost wages, and medical expense reimbursement. By making a stand to demand responsibility, pursuing legal action can help to ensure less people lose their life to suicide.