There's something wrong about this...

Lamplighter · 12-25-2010, 10:51 AM

NY Times

Daniel J. Langevin was 35, mentally ill and broke.
He had been living in psychiatric institutions on and off since his early 20s.
A friend who visited him at the Rochester Psychiatric Center in February 1995
remembered that Mr. Langevin had pain in his jaw, eye and face
that was not getting much attention from the staff.
A week later, he was discovered unconscious,
with a near-fatal infection spreading to his brain and other organs.
Mr. Langevin sued New York State, which operates the hospital,
and probably would have won a sizable award.

But the state countered by demanding that Mr. Langevin reimburse it
$1.7 million for 10 years of inpatient care he had received.

A judge sided with the state, and Mr. Langevin wound up with nothing.

DanaC · 12-25-2010, 11:00 AM

That's appalling.

wolf · 12-25-2010, 11:14 AM

That sucks in major ways, especially since the state had already been reimbursed for the fellow's care.

xoxoxoBruce · 12-30-2010, 12:53 AM

Wait a minute, this useless drag on society has been mooching off the state like forever. Then some underpaid, overworked employee makes one little boo boo, and now this parasite is entitled to get a shitload more money from the taxpayers, that he can't do anything with because he's not fit for public.
Where's the soylent green truck when ya need it.

TheMercenary · 12-30-2010, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Wait a minute, this useless drag on society has been mooching off the state like forever. Then some underpaid, overworked employee makes one little boo boo, and now this parasite is entitled to get a shitload more money from the taxpayers, that he can't do anything with because he's not fit for public.
Where's the soylent green truck when ya need it.

I guess they could have just gave him the hospital bill if he had won the money. That would have probably evened it up right there.

Sundae · 12-30-2010, 08:43 AM

Hang on - a living, breathing, thinking person who is not capable of living outside an institution should be penalised for having to do so?

I don't think he should have sued, because that doesn't help anyone (as he cannot spend the money himself, evidently) but whistle-blowing in this case is justified. But my understanding is that in America, whistles blown = lawsuits.

But hey, if he's so worthess just threaten to kill him.
I'm sure the furore raised by the Right to Live groups will fund him for the rest of his natural life.

TheMercenary · 12-30-2010, 09:20 AM

Funding for our whole mental health system is broken, like most everything else. Things get missed. And often those things have little to do with gross negligence as most ambulance chasers would like you to believe.

Sundae · 12-30-2010, 10:27 AM

Our mental health system is also shot to shit.
"Care in the community" basically meant releasing people who could not cope with daily life and giving them accommodation and money, but little or no support. Oh they got their drugs paid for alright. But many - MANY - only took them with familial intervention.

But then institutions were cruel places too, preventing those who could live outside from ever having the opportunity to prove it.

I've yet to hear of any country who have been able to reach a reasonable balance. But I'd look to the Netherlands or New Zealand as examples. No, I've no idea how they handle it - I just know them to follow ideals pretty close to my own much of the time.

TheMercenary · 12-30-2010, 10:32 AM

Oh, we release ours too. But I think most of them end up in the jail.

xoxoxoBruce · 12-30-2010, 01:59 PM

Or living under a bridge.

Shawnee123 · 12-30-2010, 02:07 PM

Or going to school here.

Lamplighter · 12-30-2010, 02:12 PM

In the US, it's just one legacy from our Governor and President,
Ronald Regan... De-institutionalize, then cut $ for meds and small group homes.

Trilby · 12-30-2010, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

In the US, it's just one legacy from our Governor and President,
Ronald Regan... De-institutionalize, then cut $ for meds and small group homes.

Ketchup is a vegetable!

Good ol' Ronnie...

TheMercenary · 12-30-2010, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

Or going to school here.

I hope they all go to your state and enroll in your school.... Really.

Lamplighter · 12-31-2010, 09:55 PM

ABC News
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
Dec. 30, 2010

Supporters Applaud Plan to Release Scott Sisters in Kidney Deal
Gladys and Jamie Scott Were Given Life Sentences for an Armed Robbery

Quote:

Backers have long claimed that the women, who are African-American,
were innocent and their life prison sentences for an armed robbery
-- reportedly for $11 -- were tinged with racism

BUT...

Quote:

Barbour said their release was contingent on Gladys Scott, now 36, donating a kidney to her sister.

NEXT DAY... Action -> Reaction

ABC News
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
Dec. 31, 2010

Scott Sisters Kidney Donation Threatens Organ Transplant Laws
Governor's Deal Violates 50-Year-Old Donation Laws Outlawing Coercion and Rewards;

AND... What If Sisters Aren't a Match?

Quote:

As jubilant supporters await the release of Gladys and Jamie Scott, who brokered a bargain
with Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour to get early prison release by undergoing an organ transplant,
medical ethicists are crying foul.

Quote:

On Thursday, the governor signed an order that suspended the Scott sisters' life sentences
as long as Gladys, 36, who is healthy, donates her kidney to Jamie, 38, who has been on dialysis.
The women have been imprisoned for the past 16 years on charges of masterminding an armed robbery.

12-25-2010, 10:51 AM	#1
Lamplighter Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bottom lands of the Missoula floods Posts: 6,402	There's something wrong about this... NY Times Daniel J. Langevin was 35, mentally ill and broke. He had been living in psychiatric institutions on and off since his early 20s. A friend who visited him at the Rochester Psychiatric Center in February 1995 remembered that Mr. Langevin had pain in his jaw, eye and face that was not getting much attention from the staff. A week later, he was discovered unconscious, with a near-fatal infection spreading to his brain and other organs. Mr. Langevin sued New York State, which operates the hospital, and probably would have won a sizable award. But the state countered by demanding that Mr. Langevin reimburse it $1.7 million for 10 years of inpatient care he had received. A judge sided with the state, and Mr. Langevin wound up with nothing.

12-25-2010, 11:14 AM	#3
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	That sucks in major ways, especially since the state had already been reimbursed for the fellow's care. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

12-30-2010, 12:53 AM	#4
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Wait a minute, this useless drag on society has been mooching off the state like forever. Then some underpaid, overworked employee makes one little boo boo, and now this parasite is entitled to get a shitload more money from the taxpayers, that he can't do anything with because he's not fit for public. Where's the soylent green truck when ya need it. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

12-30-2010, 08:43 AM	#6
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Hang on - a living, breathing, thinking person who is not capable of living outside an institution should be penalised for having to do so? I don't think he should have sued, because that doesn't help anyone (as he cannot spend the money himself, evidently) but whistle-blowing in this case is justified. But my understanding is that in America, whistles blown = lawsuits. But hey, if he's so worthess just threaten to kill him. I'm sure the furore raised by the Right to Live groups will fund him for the rest of his natural life. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

12-30-2010, 09:20 AM	#7
TheMercenary “Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo” Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 21,393	Funding for our whole mental health system is broken, like most everything else. Things get missed. And often those things have little to do with gross negligence as most ambulance chasers would like you to believe. __________________ Anyone but the this most fuked up President in History in 2012!

12-30-2010, 10:27 AM	#8
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Our mental health system is also shot to shit. "Care in the community" basically meant releasing people who could not cope with daily life and giving them accommodation and money, but little or no support. Oh they got their drugs paid for alright. But many - MANY - only took them with familial intervention. But then institutions were cruel places too, preventing those who could live outside from ever having the opportunity to prove it. I've yet to hear of any country who have been able to reach a reasonable balance. But I'd look to the Netherlands or New Zealand as examples. No, I've no idea how they handle it - I just know them to follow ideals pretty close to my own much of the time. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

12-30-2010, 10:32 AM	#9
TheMercenary “Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo” Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 21,393	Oh, we release ours too. But I think most of them end up in the jail. __________________ Anyone but the this most fuked up President in History in 2012!

12-30-2010, 01:59 PM	#10
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Or living under a bridge. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

12-30-2010, 02:07 PM	#11
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Or going to school here. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

12-30-2010, 02:12 PM	#12
Lamplighter Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bottom lands of the Missoula floods Posts: 6,402	In the US, it's just one legacy from our Governor and President, Ronald Regan... De-institutionalize, then cut $ for meds and small group homes.

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