Involuntary Transport Evidence in New York City: What the Record Has to Show Before the Hospital Door

Stephan M. Carlson, MD, MBA, FAPA · Emergency Psychiatry and Civil Commitment

Transport and admission are two separate decisions, made by two different people on two different records. A retained expert's first job in these cases is to keep them separate: the question that justifies putting someone in the ambulance is not the question that justifies keeping them in the hospital. The decision the statute actually authorizes New York does not authorize officers or clinicians to transport someone to a psychiatric emergency program because the person is mentally ill, but because the person appears mentally ill and is conducting themselves in a manner likely to result in serious harm. Under Mental Hygiene Law §9.41, a police officer or a peace officer, when acting pursuant

Most relevant service: Risk & Civil Commitment Assessment