I had a si that sent me to the ER ( a couple stitches)...this was a few years ago. They sectioned me, which was ridiculous as I was neither su or psychotic. I was there for a couple hours and decided it was BS and tried to leave. The security guard grabbed me hard and slammed me down on the ground, then proceeded to put his knee on my back and hold me down with all of his weight. He used brute force. I was not nor have I ever been violent. Then I got held in a small cell for 10 hrs. No potty, no smokes or nicotine patch, no water, no anti-anxiety meds...nothing. My clothes were taken and I was left there barefooted and in a backless gown with a light sheet and dirty mattress on the floor. I finally got put into a psych hosp. that held me over night and released me.

I filed a complaint with the hospital, with DMH, with rights of the disabled and with the police dept. It was a big ordeal, and frustrating as all hell. The hospital forged the records. The cameras in the er weren't working that night (so they say). It was me against this big conglomeration. No attorney would touch it. After about 6 mos I dropped it and walked away. There was no fighting them...it was the notes of 30 staff members against my husband and I....and I was a psych patient.

Not trying to discourage you, but it's really hard to bring a case against a hospital. Mental health laws are progressing, but there is still a lot of discrimination.