Hello familyleftbehind,

I'm sorry about what happened to your brother.  You most likely did what you could to get him help.

Your brother is in heaven now: a place far better than this human world.  I firmly believe this.

By all means, sue the doctor if you feel you want to see justice served.  As everyone knows, the commitment laws in the United States are a SHAM.  Unfortunately, it is the rule not the exception that people who are psychotic, who are hearing voices or delusional, get turned away from the hospital.

This is an ongoing complaint and you are not alone in what you went through.  I feel strongly that suing the doctor could be an option.

It IS a sham, because the staff at the hospital stringently consider whether a person is a danger to himself or other people, and invariably the staff do not think dangerous people are dangerous, even when they are.

So people get released after the 72 hour hold, and get much worse and deteriorate.  Unfortunately, too, some people with schizophrenia or psychosis can appear relatively normal when the staff at the hospital question them.

I'm sorry your brother went through hell in his short life.

At any rate, others in society need to keep hearing about stories like yours because maybe finally something will be done to get commitment laws enforced.

As it is, the commitment laws are a sham.  You might want to read the Pete Earley book Crazy about his experiences with what his son did after his son was released from a 72 hour hold.

It might not make you feel better that you are not alone.  Indeed, I would be even more angry to know what happened is an ordinary occurrence in America.

As a result, I will write at this website what's called a SharePost in which I detail the facts about a 72 hour hold, and how best to try to get treatment when treatrment is repeatedly denied.

Jennifer Interlandi in June in the New York Times wrote an article about this very topic: titled "What Happened When My Crazy Father Actually Went Insane," or some title to that effect.  Her father was routinely denied admission to the hospital, only to be released and get violent on the outside.

Nobody should have to go through what you did.  Your brother suffered with his mental illness, and he should've gotten help.

I will look for my index card on which I wrote notes about how to get a person committed, and I will write a SharePost about getting a person committed (NOT referring to your situation) at this website in July, this month.

Though: I have written about this topic before.  I interviewed a woman who got her son committed successfully, so I will create a hyperlink to that interview in the July article.

Again:

I'm so sorry this happened.

Regards,

Christina