Patients Held Against Their Will
Not What I signed Up For
Imagine being trapped in a strange place, full of strangers. Imagine wanting to leave and being told you can’t go home. Imagine you went there willingly. Unfortunately, that’s a story told repeatedly by people who say they went voluntarily for inpatient psychiatric treatment, but when they decided it wasn’t working for them, they were held against their will.
Below is a news story from WFAA in Dallas where patients and families say that’s exactly what happened to them. Though this story is from November 2017, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights continues to hear from patients who say they went for care, even emergency room care, only to be held against their will.
Many seek help at psychiatric facilities, but what do you do when the help goes wrong? For example: being seriously hurt during a restraint that was not carried out correctly; receiving medications against your will or without informed consent, sometimes with serious side effects; experiencing unsanitary or unsafe conditions.
Information is lacking on inpatient psychiatric facilities. Texas doesn’t even make routine inspection reports public. Negative online reviews can be hard to believe but, with no other source of information and no other alternatives, some may find themselves not receiving care they were expecting. Accurate and timely information is even more important when there is a risk of infection with a contagious and deadly new virus. Texans should not be asked to make such important decisions with inadequate information.
Has this happened to you or a loved one? Have you or a loved one been held against their will at a psychiatric facility? Do you know of a psychiatric facility that is not carrying out safety protocols for infectious diseases?
Call us today and report the abuse! 800-572-2905
Other Held Against Their Will Articles
I was WRONGLY locked up in a psychiatric hospital at 15 for a whole year – and I am still haunted by the trauma
I was WRONGLY locked up in a psychiatric hospital at 15 for a whole year – and I am still haunted by the trauma
An 11-year-old patient was held at a private mental health hospital against her family’s will
An 11-year-old patient was held at a private mental health hospital against her family’s will
Diane describes the moment when she found out that the hospital locked the doors, keeping her from leaving
Diane describes the moment when she found out that the hospital locked the doors, keeping her from leaving
Against Their Will: The Breakout
We told you about the Hough family and their fight – literally – to get their daughter out of a North Texas mental hospital holding her against her will.
Lawmakers act after WFAA’s stories of voluntary patients held in mental institutions
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – A North Texas mental hospital faces more criminal charges for holding patients illegally and against their will.
North Texas Mental Hospital Faces Additional Criminal Charges
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – A North Texas mental hospital faces more criminal charges for holding patients illegally and against their will.
North Texas psychiatric hospital hit with criminal violations
Sundance Behavioral Healthcare has been indicted by a Tarrant County grand jury on nine criminal counts, including for holding four patients involuntarily at the company’s Arlington facility.
Lawsuits: Patients held against their will at Dallas Behavioral Hospital
Two women claim in a pair of recently filed lawsuits that they were “held against their will” at a well-known mental health hospital in North Texas.
Patients say sedative known as ‘booty juice’ injected against their will
A growing number of children and teenagers admitted voluntarily to North Texas for-profit psychiatric hospitals told WFAA that they’ve been injected with powerful sedative drugs without their parents’ knowledge.
Mother Of Teen Says A North Texas Hospital Worse Than A Jail
Renee Mauldin made a promise to her granddaughter while hugging her tightly, “I’ll never let that happen again Maddie. I promise, never, never.”