Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Sides discussing settlement in lawsuit over busing of Nevada mental patients

Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital

This is the front sign for the Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital Tuesday, May 7, 2013.

Settlement talks have emerged in a class action lawsuit accusing Nevada of misusing public funds for busing mentally ill patients to California.

The talks are the latest in a 16-month legal battle between Nevada and the city and county of San Francisco. A successful negotiation would end one of three busing-related lawsuits facing Nevada. Any money would compensate California for harboring indigent patients who were discharged from Nevada psychiatric facilities and given one-way bus tickets with directors to seek help in California. The settlement also would aim to outline new rules for transporting patients across state lines.

California officials say the busing cost San Francisco at least $4 million to treat 21 patients from Nevada, according to legal documents in a San Francisco district court. The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office said it has the names of 500 patients who traveled to California from Las Vegas’ Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital between 2008 to 2013. It’s unclear how many of the 500 sought treatment once they arrived in California.

Officials from both states declined to comment on the details of the settlement negotiations — a standard practice during legal settlements.

“Those are confidential by mutual agreement,” said Matt Dorsey, spokesman in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office.

Officials in Nevada’s Attorney General’s Office declined to comment for the story.

Nevada and its legal counsel attempted to have the case thrown out of court on jurisdictional grounds. But the California Supreme Court denied their claim. After the supreme court ruling, both parties agreed to settlement negotiations.

The parties have until Jan. 12 to make a deal or return to litigation.

Key figures listed on the lawsuit are Gov. Brian Sandoval’s current chief of staff and the former director of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Mike Willden, Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Administrator Richard Whitley, and Chelsea Szklany, Rawson-Neal's administrator.

They are also listed in two ongoing cases — one in federal court and another in a Nevada district court — that are aiming to seek damages for patients who were bused.

The federal case is currently awaiting a ruling in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the state case is in the “early stages of its proceedings,” said Alan Lichtenstein, a Las Vegas attorney representing individuals who were bused from Nevada.

Nevada’s high-ranking officials have denied any knowledge of the busing scandal. A state-led investigation did not find them at fault.

The settlement, Lichtenstein said, shows that their denials are “hollow.”

The news first broke after the Sacramento Bee newspaper uncovered that James Flavy Coy Brown, a Rawson-Neal patient, was sent on a 15-hour bus ride to Sacramento with no arrangements for care, housing or treatment. Hospital staff allegedly gave Brown a one-way bus ticket, peanut butter crackers and a three-day supply of medication to treat his schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. He had no family or friends in the area and was reportedly told to call 911 when he arrived.

California officials allege that patients were dropped off in 50 different locations throughout the state.

If the state settles the San Francisco case out of court, the money will come from the state’s Tort Claims Fund. The state tapped another reserve fund for $1.9 million to pay outside counsel.

Advocates blame budget cuts for the problems. From 2007 to 2011, the Legislature cut $80 million from the mental health budget.

The state’s economy has improved since the busing practice reportedly began in 2008. But there may not be much money to make sweeping improvements. For the upcoming legislative session, there’s a projected budget shortfall of $160 million. Public education and tax reform are the high priorities.

Sandoval has made efforts to improve the system. The state boosted mental health funding by at least $30 million, and Sandoval signed an executive order to create the Behavioral Health and Wellness Council to oversee state programs and make recommendations. Since June, it has advocated for and Sandoval has awarded at least $3.5 million in state funding. More than 100 beds for mental health patients have been added to hospitals statewide.

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