Compensation may soon be available for those who have been involuntarily hospitalized for longer than 72 hours.
Mélodie Pelletier, a communications agent with Droits-Accès de l’Outaouais, an organization that advocates for the rights of people with mental illness, explained that those who have been held for more than 72 hours may be eligible for compensation from the provincial government thanks to a class action lawsuit by the group Action Autonomie. She said that under law P-38, patients can be to be held involuntarily at a health facility if they are deemed to be a danger to themselves or others, however, the rules aren’t always followed.
Pelletier said that according to the latest numbers she has access to, there were 750 involuntary hospitalizations in the Outaouais in 2022 alone, more than two a day. She added that the lawsuit only covers those who were hospitalized after 2015, and they will know more about the results of the suit when it is finalized later this fall.
