The lawyer for a mentally deranged man in the District’s care whom the government charged more than $2 million after he gouged out his own eyes urged the D.C. Council on Tuesday to ensure similar bills are never sent to anyone again.
Legislation before the council would prohibit the mayor from billing a ward of the government who was found not guilty by reason of insanity and then committed, when that person’s care is found to be negligent.
The bill was introduced after stories in The Examiner depicted the case of Frank Harris, a longtime patient at St. Elizabeths Hospital who pulled out his own eyes in 2003 after a hospital employee released him from his restraints. Soon after Harris’ guardian sued on his behalf, the government sent her an invoice for $2.2 million to cover his room and board.
Existing D.C. law requires the government to assert its right to collect, Mayor Adrian Fenty’s counsel has argued. Fenty railed against that policy during his terms as a council member.
The mayor’s office declined to participate in Tuesday’s hearing.
Charging penniless patients after they sue is “an attempt to retaliate” and a “simple straightforward case of bullying,” Council Member Mary Cheh said during a hearing before the public safety and judiciary committee.
Joseph Cammarata, Harris’ attorney, said the legislation must be expanded to include all wards of the government who sue for negligent care, not just those found guilty by reason of insanity. Billing patients who seek redress, he said, is “mean spirited” and a “blatant attempt to discourage lawsuits.”
The District agreed to pay $650,000 and to waive the room and board charges when it settled the Harris case this month.
Council Member Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee and lead sponsor of the legislation, said he would consider expanding the scope of the measure to include other cases.
For the District to charge a patient only when it is sued is “reprehensible” and “morally offensive,” Mendelson said.
“This bill is not about Frank Harris,” Mendelson said. “It’s about billing for negligent care.”
