The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has refused to clear an emergency room physician of a woman's claim that he violated her civil rights. The case dates back to 2007, when the patient, who has mental health issues, was detained against her will at MaineGeneral Medical Center. As Patty Wight reports, the lawsuit raises questions about physician liability.
It was a series of three emails that ultimately led to Linda Clifford's experience at Maine General Medical in Augusta. Clifford has mental health issues, and in September of 2007, she was frustrated about proposed budget cuts to Maine's mental health services. She sent three emails that were interpreted as threatening to then-Gov. John Baldacci.
Maine State Police were dispatched to Clifford's home in Richmond. They then took her to MaineGeneral for a psychiatric evaluation. An emergency room physician and an employee of the Crisis and Counseling Center both agreed Clifford did not pose a threat to herself or others, and she was discharged.
But when superiors at the Crisis and Counseling Center looked into Clifford's emails, they decided she should have a second psychiatric evaluation. Once more, police brought Clifford to MaineGeneral.
There, a different Emergency Room physician, Dr. Scott Kemmerer, decided Clifford should be examined by a psychiatrist, who wasn't available until the following day. Hospital staff told Clifford that she had to sign herself in or be involuntarily committed.
No one informed Clifford she had a right to refuse to admit herself. Court documents say Clifford was subjected to a body search and locked in a windowless room. The next day, after meeting with the psychiatrist, Clifford was discharged.
She then filed a lawsuit against Dr. Kemmerer, saying he violated her civil rights. Kemmerer claimed he should be granted immunity and the case should not proceed.
"The state wants private hospitals to assess individuals," says Mark Joyce, an attorney for the Disability Rights Center of Maine. "And so the private hospitals are concerned about their liability when they assess individuals. And so the law court has given a line of cases that gives the hospitals what we call 'common law immunity.'"
But the Maine Supreme Court decided that, while Dr. Kemmerer may claim immunity under common law, he may not do so under the Civil Rights Act.
Joyce, who filed a friend of the court brief in the case, says the case demonstrates the importance of performing adequate mental health assessments. "I think the fact that immunity is off the table in this particular issue is huge," he says.
A call to Dr. Kemmerer's attorney was not returned by airtime, and MaineGeneral Hosptial declined to comment on the ongoing court case.
Jeff Austin of the Maine Hospital Association says the case illustrates the challenges of treating mental illness, and a broader issue as well: "The explosion of behavioral health issues in society," Austin says. "When we get together with our members, the amount of psychiatric-related issues within their facility has gone up considerably."
The Supreme Court decision was issued Tuesday. The case will now continue in Kennebec County Superior Court.
