Currid v. DeKalb State Court Prob. The service setting at this . Ridgeview Institute has been a staple in the state of Georgia and nationwide for the treatment of both addiction and behavioral health for over 40 years. ", In an additional 24 cases, the agency says, "we agree the hospital system should make improvements.". Sarah's autopsy provided a far more horrific account. We find the question of proximate cause could be decided as a matter of law in this case. The lawsuit alleges Ridgeview High School's boys' athletic programs have a history of hazing and violent abuse, and Richland County School District Two should have protected the victim from his. In children, the institute says, the disease often is misdiagnosed as autism. Youth Art Therapist at PSA Art Awakenings. High patient-to-staff ratios are hardly unusual at the state hospitals. message, please email Gibb, still the only physician on duty, arrived at Sarah's room a few minutes later, records show. Dr. Shipman's July 9, 2006 admitting note stated that: Hospitalization is necessary as the patient is having depression, severe agitation, and suicidal thoughts. 23(1), 329 S.E.2d 154 (1985). As well as one on one monitoring with clients who have melt downs. Peachford hospital does not treat the mentally ill, they abuse them. Jackel, Rainey, Marsh & Busch, Dana L. Jackel, Larry W. Ramsey, Jr., Marietta, for appellee. July 2014 - Present. So I know it's finals season and a lot of us are undergoing, ah, significant stress. 44: Rank of Georgia among 50 states in per capita spending on mental health services. FindLaw.com Free, trusted legal information for consumers and legal professionals, SuperLawyers.com Directory of U.S. attorneys with the exclusive Super Lawyers rating, Abogado.com The #1 Spanish-language legal website for consumers, LawInfo.com Nationwide attorney directory and legal consumer resources. The letter's purpose, the clinical director wrote, was for "coaching and counseling. When the detention is predicated upon procedurally valid process, false imprisonment is not an available remedy, regardless of the motives upon which the process was secured, because detention effectuated pursuant to procedurally valid process, such as an arrest warrant, is not unlawful. Williams v. Smith, 179 Ga.App. Our highly trained and caring treatment professionals, including psychologists, clinical social workers, professional counselors, and marriage and family therapists, provide individual and family therapy . Here, the record is clear that Handley's claimed injury, his detention, did not proximately flow from Ridgeview's alleged negligent act. In fact, what happened to Sarah was beyond anything Dobson could have imagined. His attorney, Sandra Michaels, says Amin should not be "singled out" for blame. Likewise, there is no evidence that Handley, or either of his children appointed as his legal representatives, desired a legal resolution to his involuntary commitment. Her family took her to an emergency room, where a doctor at first suspected meningitis. Established in 1976, Ridgeview Institute is a private, nonprofit hospital that provides psychiatric and substance abuse treatment. Any time a student is transported or visits a hospital for any reason, we ask the student about their experience to continuously assess the quality of care our students are receiving, Stein said in a statement. The essential elements of the cause of action for false imprisonment are a detention of the person of another for any length of time, and the unlawfulness of that detention. (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Thorazine to control hallucinations. Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. "She was a healthy 14-year-old --- healthy, " says Dobson, Sarah's maternal grandmother and guardian, who has hired an attorney to pursue a claim against the state. Doctors prescribed an assortment of medications: Ativan to reduce anxiety. 2. On July 24, 2006, Dr. Shipman reported that Krachman told her: I want to go home, but I can't. In Gilbert, our Supreme Court recognized that [u]nder the doctrine of respondeat superior, a principal has no defense based on an agent's immunity from civil liability for an act committed in the course of employment. (Citation omitted.) We therefore reaffirm our holding in Williams, supra 255 S.E.2d at 716, that [w]here one is taken into custody pursuant to a procedurally valid certificate of a physician authorizing involuntary mental treatment, the resulting detention is not unlawful. Although such detention may give rise to other claims, a cause of action for false imprisonment is not among them. Accordingly, the trial court erred in ruling that Handley has a viable claim for false imprisonment based upon Ridgeview's alleged failure to provide the statutory notices required by OCGA 37-3-44. Then she went back to work elsewhere in the hospital. Sarah met them in a waiting room --- the hospital does not allow visitors on the wards --- dressed in a white hospital gown, rather than the jeans and shirts she had worn during earlier visits. Psychiatric Center, 158 Ga.App. They found she had become lethally constipated partly because of her medications, some of which were known to cause severe constipation in many patients. In and out of institutions for years as he battled mental illness, Moore, 49, also had a degenerative disease that was slowly taking away his eyesight. Direct quotations not taken from documents or heard by reporters appear in italics. At the same time, we must seek to effectuate the intent of the legislature. (Citations and punctuation omitted.) For other hospital employees, the consequences of Sarah's death appear to have been minimal. Amin, who has contested his firing, declined to comment for this article. Her shoulder-length brown hair needed washing. Student Lifes Director of Communications Sara Warner further clarified: We cannot specifically speak to our students experiences at one hospital. She fell, fractured her jaw in three places, and alleges that Ridgeview personnel did not facilitate medical treatment for more than an hour. The email address cannot be subscribed. "She was sedated, " Joyce Dobson says, "like a zombie.". effective january 5, 2017, ridgeview institute, inc. executed an asset purchase agreement with us healthvest, llc which included the sale of certain assets related to the hospital business, as well as all rights to the operation of . She was quiet, he said, but he "couldn't necessarily tell if she was breathing.". [When I was being checked in] they told me three to five days, and once I got into the unit the nurses told me five to seven, and then once I finally saw a doctor she told me ten [days]. Signed by Judge Richard W. Roberts on 10/3/07. Among the 115 cases the newspaper determined to be suspicious, the greatest number of patients --- 36 --- died from choking on food, vomit or foreign objects, or by aspirating those substances into their lungs. I will say they had group sessions twice a day I actually found those to be helpful. He had to administer medications to patients and fill out paperwork. But Sarah's medical records contain no indication that Gibb actually examined her. Write a Review Claim this listing Reviews: 06/14/2019 I was Hospitalized at Ridgeview 5 years ago. In a fit of anger, she shredded an antique book belonging to Dobson. The former alleges malpractice. excuses voor het ongemak. We offer 24/7 free assessments in our facility for your convenience. She stood in the doorway, other hospital workers would later report, and watched as they tried to resuscitate Sarah. See also Kendrick v. Metro. We also hold that Handley cannot maintain an independent claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. 3995 S Cobb Dr SE Smyrna GA 30080. "Medical professionals are left with the responsibility to develop systems to collect information related to the patient's wellness, to recognize symptoms related to impaired health, and to obtain and provide prompt and appropriate treatment. Learn more about FindLaws newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy. Nathan Zeiger is Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Ridgeview and is responsible for the accountability and oversight of the clinic's 23 locations across five counties in Eastern Tennessee. If I am not released, the process for involuntary hospitalization will begin. 2. She told Dr. Rosen that her father had tied up her mother in the house, that he had loaded guns and was threatening to use them on his wife and himself, and that he was threatening to burn down his house. "It just seemed like such carelessness. Contact Us for a Free & Confidential Assessment. If we were to extend the definition of process in the manner advanced by Handley and the trial court, then every negligent act or violation of law accompanied by a detention-for example, the failure to read Miranda warnings after a valid arrest-could give rise to a claim for false imprisonment. the primary purpose of ridgeview institute, inc. was to provide mental health and addiction treatment services. Institutionalized since they were toddlers in Jesup in the 1940s, both "seemed to do very well" in recent years at Southwestern State Hospital, says Linda Hires, their younger sister. los inconvenientes que esto te pueda causar. State hospitals were the only homes Gloria and Dorothy Edenfield ever knew. Although they spent their lives together in institutions, they had lived in separate rooms for years, Hires says, and Dorothy seemed not even to know Gloria had died. Monica Ann Krachman filed a Complaint for False Imprisonment against Ridgeview Institute, Inc., a Georgia corporation ("Ridgeview"), Denise Shipman, M.D., Denise Shipman, M.D., Inc., and Sandra Ann Diehl, M.D., claiming that the defendants unlawfully detained her at Ridgeview between July 9, 2006 and July 31, 2006. We receive feedback from students on all hospital experiences Any time we receive negative feedback and Institute staff member has a conversation with the facility to improve the student experience.. Ridgeview Institute is here to help you navigate your journey to wellness. To request information suppression, updates, or additions, contact us about this docket. Suspicious deaths from 2002 --- late 2006, 36: CHOKING (includes patients who died after aspirating food or vomit into lungs), 16: UNEXPLAINED/SUSPICIOUS (as classified by Department of Human Resources). envie um e-mail para "There was chaos on the unit, " a nurse who went off-duty at 11:30 p.m. would later tell an investigator. enviando un correo electrnico a The other resulted from a 2005 policy requiring agency employees to look into the death of every state hospital patient. The same analysis is applied to claims for false imprisonment arising from involuntary mental examinations and commitments under OCGA 37-3-40 et seq. She was the sole resident of Room 1123 on the adolescent unit. Alicia Darby-Bishop United States Details. She complained of stomach pain at 4:30 p.m. She vomited about 8:30. (Emphasis in original.) message, contactez-nous l'adresse At FindLaw.com, we pride ourselves on being the number one source of free legal information and resources on the web. By the fall, Sarah's family realized they needed help again. If this happens, I will be told of my rights. Boys slept on one hall, girls on the other. She had put on weight during her hospital stay, about 30 pounds, up to 156, possibly a side effect of her anti-psychotic medications. The doctor did not document whether she listened for bowel sounds with a stethoscope, or checked whether the abdomen and bowel area were firm, or felt for masses. The Medical Coder is responsible for the accurate abstracting of inpatient and outpatient Behavioral Health patient data into the computerized data base . Her lungs had filled with vomit. They include patient advocates, as well as a Connecticut physician who heads the American Psychiatric Association's patient safety committee and another psychiatrist who helps conduct inquiries into deaths at mental hospitals in Illinois. The problem, they discovered, was exacerbated by dosages that sometimes exceeded the amounts prescribed. 34: Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, 23: East Central Regional Hospital in Augusta, 16: Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital in Rome, 14: Southwestern State Hospital in Thomasville, 3: West Central Georgia Regional Hospital in Columbus. In one case, hospital officials assigned a death investigation to a music therapist on their staff. We agree. In other words, there can be no such tort as a negligent false imprisonment which of itself makes the defendant liable without proof of the invasion of some interest other than the bare interest in freedom from confinement. (Citations and punctuation omitted.) This is the combustible atmosphere that Sarah Elizabeth Crider, a seventh-grader from the suburbs, encountered in the fall of 2005 when she entered Georgia Regional. Because we are reversing the trial court's denial of Ridgeview's motion for summary judgment on all of Handley's claims against Ridgeview in this action, it is unnecessary for us to address the additional grounds for reversal raised in this appeal. "She had never been sick in her life. The way a girl with no history of serious physical illness died more than three months later illustrates not just the breakdown of care in her case, but also a systemic failure that has escaped scrutiny for decades. Some of us more than others. 459(1), 486 S.E.2d 684 (1997). After Ridgeview filed a motion to dismiss or in the alternative for summary judgment, the trial court granted summary judgment in Ridgeview's favor by order dated November 24, 2008. Dobson adored Sarah for all her complexities: artistic but troubled, challenging but comic. Nurse and technician jobs go unfilled for weeks or months at a time. Ridgeview Institute 3995 South Cobb Drive, Smyrna, Georgia, 30080 3.4 ( 84 Reviews) Call (844) 350-8800 See All Photos Facility Center Details Detox Services Residential Treatment Behavioral Disorder Treatment Dual-Diagnosis Treatment Inpatient Intensive Outpatient Services Outpatient Services Sober Living Home Telehealth at 119(3), 407 S.E.2d 406. Any physician, psychologist, peace officer, attorney, or health official, or any hospital official, agent, or other person employed by a private hospital or at a facility operated by the state, by a political subdivision of the state, or by a hospital authority created pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 7 of Title 31, who acts in good faith in compliance with the admission and discharge provisions of this chapter shall be immune from civil or criminal liability for his actions in connection with the admission of a patient to a facility or the discharge of a patient from a facility. No independent agency routinely investigates or analyzes these deaths, the Journal-Constitution found. So youre supposed to be seen within 24 hours [of being admitted] I got seen at hour 23. I feel so not ready to go home. The Journal-Constitution documented 364 deaths of state hospital patients from January 2002 through mid-December 2006. See what Ridgeview Nurse Navigators Jennifer Jerde, RN, and Cyndy Stuckmayer, RN, have to say about their careers at Ridgeview. 346, 349(2), 330 S.E.2d 108 (1985). See, e.g., Deese v. NationsBank of Ga., 222 Ga.App. The . Therefore, assuming arguendo that Handley can establish that Ridgeview breached its legal obligation to provide the notifications required by OCGA 37-3-44, Handley must still be able to prove he suffered actual damages as a proximate cause of Ridgeview's negligence. Subsequently, we extended this rule to a non-governmental entity in Stephens v. Conyers Apostolic Church, 243 Ga.App. Si continas recibiendo este mensaje, infrmanos del problema 890, 891-893(1), 426 S.E.2d 635 (1992) (Poss I ), overruled on other grounds, Ga. Dept. After Sarah vomited about 8:30 p.m., the nurse then on the adolescent unit paged the doctor. Handley telephoned his son, Joey Handley, approximately ten minutes after he was admitted at Ridgeview. For members of the public who have questions or concerns regarding patient quality or safety, please contact the hospital's administration at 1-419-968-2950, or write 17872 Lincoln Highway, Middle Point, OH 45863 or email click here. June 2013 - September 2013. Ridgeview Institute has been awarded the Joint Commissions Gold Seal of approval, which represents our dedication to ongoing quality of care, patient safety, and best practices. Ridgeview Institute - Monroe at 709 Breedlove Dr, Monroe, GA 30655. Walker, the state's human resources commissioner. Directions. Claim this business. An action for false imprisonment will lie where a person is unlawfully detained under a void process, or under no process at all, and can not be maintained where the process is valid, no matter how corrupt may be the motives of the person suing out the process or how unfounded the imprisonment may be. [Cit.] "We had no idea he was ill." Neither, apparently, did the hospital staff. Caso continue recebendo esta mensagem, As the shift began, the nurse assigned another male technician to the girls' hall to work with a female colleague. But a statement released by the Georgia Department of Human Resources, which operates the hospitals, says 82 of the patients identified by the Journal-Constitution had underlying medical problems "that were appropriately treated. 839, 282 S.E.2d 361 (1981). 0.62: Number per 1,000 U.S. residents who will receive psychiatric hospital treatment. Two-thirds apparently died of natural causes. - Private Practice, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatry and Addictionology, Chronic Pain Management, 1982 - Present. Ridgeview Institute, a private hospital treating people with addiction or mental health problems, has earned a national reputation for care and service. [Cit.] On July 27, 2006, Dr. Diehl interviewed Krachman to provide a second opinion. Save 25% on a pre-paid one year subscription. Sign in to add some. The person to whom a written request is submitted shall deliver the request to the chief medical officer within 24 hours, Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays excluded. Sarah spent two weeks at Georgia Regional in February and March 2005, shortly after leaving Ridgeview. Gwen Skinner, who heads the mental health division of the Department of Human Resources, describes the investigations as "strong, thorough." Ridgeview Institute has been a staple in the state of Georgia and nationwide for the treatment of both addiction and behavioral health for over 40 years. When William Gregory Williamson died at Central State Hospital in July 2004, "his death came as a total shock, " says his sister, Brenda Betancourt of Warner Robins.