Two former patients of a Nevada mental health hospital have sued the facility and state health officials, claiming they were improperly discharged.
The plaintiffs claim that Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas, which is run by the state, involuntarily discharged them and shipped them out of state without any health services prepared for them.
The lawsuit claims the Rawson-Neal systematically practices “patient dumping.” The suit alleges that between 2008 and January 2013, about 1,500 patients were discharged from Rawson-Neal to various cities without follow-up arrangements.
Both plaintiffs allege that they were given anti-psychotic medication before they were released from the hospital. Staff escorted them to awaiting taxis, which took them to a Greyhound bus station with pre-paid tickets. One of the plaintiffs was sent to Flint, Mich., and the other was sent to Los Angeles.
The plaintiffs' attorney, Allen Lichtenstein, said one of the plaintiffs was homeless.
Rawson-Neal previously has been sued for alleged patient dumping tactics. A patient in 2014 alleged he was improperly discharged, but a federal appeals court recently dropped the case.
