The case of a mentally ill man under the District of Columbia’s supervision who gouged out his eyes only to be served with a $2.2 million tab has spurred legislation that would prohibit D.C. from billing certain patients whenthe city is found negligent for their care.
Council Member Phil Mendelson introduced the measure Tuesday in response to the case of Frank Harris, a schizophrenic and longtime patient at St. Elizabeths Hospital who in March 2003 poked his own eyes out minutes after hospital staff released him from restraints.
Harris’ guardians sued the government on his behalf, claiming negligence. In response, Mayor Adrian Fenty’s administration sent Harris a $2.2 million bill to cover his room and board at St. Elizabeths between March 1992 and December 2005.
“The only way he will have the money is if the court finds that the care he received was negligent,” Mendelson said. “It’s not right.”
Mendelson’s bill would forbid the city from charging for the care of a person acquitted of criminal charges on the grounds of insanity if the District is found negligent in that person’s care.
The legislation does not affect the Harris case, but Mendelson said he would make it retroactive if Fenty does not reverse the decision to bill Harris.
Peter Nickles, Fenty’s general counsel, has said that existing D.C. law requires the government to bill Medicaid patients when they come into money, as Harris would if he wins the case. Similar issues arose during the administration of former Mayor Anthony Williams, who in 2002 agreed not to file so-called “set-off claims” as a matter of public policy.
The Fenty administration’s response to the Harris case has won strong rebukes from council members. Mendelson’s bill was co-introduced by 10 of his 12 colleagues, virtually assuring its eventual approval.
Ward 8 Council Member Marion Barry called the Harris claim “heartless.” Ward 3 Council Member Mary Cheh said the tab was “plainly intended as a way to deflect the lawsuit.”
“To put a person off a cause of action is extremely distasteful and wrong,” Cheh said.
