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False imprisonment may sound like a person being dangerously restrained against their will and at risk of being seriously injured or killed. In a way, it is, but also can describe other situations which aren’t so perilous sounding.
The definition of false imprisonment is the unlawful restraint of someone which affects the person’s freedom of movement. Both the threat of being physically restrained and actually being physically restrained are false imprisonment. In a facility setting, such as a nursing home or a hospital, not allowing someone to leave the building is also false imprisonment.
In particular, in nursing homes, the various body restraints are considered false imprisonments. Not too many years ago, upon entering a nursing facility it was a common sight to see many elderly people positioned in wheelchairs with vest or belt restraints on, to keep them from moving around independently. Nowadays, that activity is more likely to fall under the definition of false imprisonment because it restricts those individual’s ability to move around on their own, should they desire to.
In fact, should a facility use patient restraints not related to medical treatment, under the Health Care Financing Administration, they could lose their Medicaid certification. A variety of situations are possible with this tort -- false imprisonment. If a person refuses to sign a hospital’s voluntary admission form and is physically prevented from leaving, and then does sign an agreement form consenting to voluntary admission, this could be considered false imprisonment.
One such case did occur in Foshee vs. Health Management Associates. A patient was seeking admission to a psychiatric hospital after being declined for lack of space at a facility her physician had referred her to. At the psychiatric facility, a nurse told the woman she could not see a physician unless she was formally admitted to the nursing facility. This nurse continued on saying that this woman could sign a form for voluntary admission, but if she refused to do so would be kept involuntarily under the state’s civil commitment statute. She was kept under restraint at the facility for two days against her will and was discharged only because she refused to sign a form authorizing her health insurance to pay for her admission and for the facility’s psychiatrist’s consulting services.
The District Court of Appeal of Florida ruled there was deceit and coercion of this patient by the nurse, and a civil suit was brought against the psychiatric nurse for false imprisonment of this woman. The facility and psychiatrist were also found liable in this case. Quite the opposite can also happen with false imprisonment and the lack of using restraints that could result in a negligence case being filed if a patient is hurt. A case such as this scenario did occur.
In Swann vs. Len-Care Rest Home, Inc, a physician ordered restraints on an as needed basis and also wrote a letter ordering the resident restrained. When this patient was not restrained, fell and required hospitalization for a head injury, a lawsuit was filed for negligence.
What happened is a disoriented elderly woman, who frequently got up from her wheelchair and subsequently fell, had family requesting that she be restrained. In this group living facility the type of care provided was similar to that which would be found in an individual’s home, without direct, one-on-one personal care.
The physician not only wrote and signed an order for restraints, but also wrote a separate letter to facility management requesting the resident be restrained while unattended. The facility was sued for negligence and lost the case since the resident should have been restrained as ordered and requested and was not.
So, false imprisonment is not an easy situation to determine, most especially in nursing facilities. The patient’s safety is of the utmost importance, but unlawfully restraining has equal hazards with it.
Outside nursing home facilities, false imprisonment could occur if a retail store manager suspects you have stolen some items from the store and takes you to a back office for detainment. During this time of confinement, you are refused a chance to go to the bathroom or get water and the exit to the room is repeatedly blocked by the store manager who wants to keep you detained until police arrive. This is also considered false imprisonment, most especially if it continues for an excessively long period of time and threatens the individual’s well-being.
When considering whether false imprisonment has occurred, keep in mind the particular scenario at hand. Was a crime committed or not, by the person being detained? Was the well-being of the individual hampered and were they threatened if they attempted to leave? Were they physically restrained against their will with repeated attempts to escape or was the restraint more passive like a chemical restraint, medication, which altered the person’s state of mind. Chemical restraints can be just as restraining, if not more so, even though there is not appearance of restriction of movement.
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