Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Nevada officials sued again over psychiatric patient busing

A new lawsuit revives allegations that Nevada officials bused psychiatric patients out of state after discharge and made no real plans for treatment at their destination.

The federal lawsuit filed Tuesday by former ACLU lawyer Allen Lichtenstein names state agencies and Rawson-Neal psychiatric hospital staff among the defendants.

The complaint says homeless plaintiff Clorissa Porter was diagnosed with schizophrenia and admitted to Rawson-Neal in Las Vegas in January 2013, then put on a Greyhound bus to Flint, Michigan, where she knew no one and later suffered a mental breakdown.

The suit seeks class-action status, arguing hundreds of people could be in the same situation.

Nevada implemented changes in its mental health system after patient-busing allegations emerged in 2013. The Nevada Attorney General's Office declined comment on the new suit Thursday.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy