Settlement talks in suit over busing Nev. mental patients
By Kyle Roerink, Las Vegas Sun
Settlement talks have emerged in a class action lawsuit accusing Nevada of misusing public funds for busing mentally ill patients to California.
The talks are the latest in a 16-month legal battle between Nevada and the city and county of San Francisco. A successful negotiation would end one of three busing-related lawsuits facing Nevada. Any money would compensate California for harboring indigent patients who were discharged from Nevada psychiatric facilities and given one-way bus tickets with directors to seek help in California. The settlement also would aim to outline new rules for transporting patients across state lines.
California officials say the busing cost San Francisco at least $4 million to treat 21 patients from Nevada, according to legal documents in a San Francisco district court. The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office said it has the names of 500 patients who traveled to California from Las Vegas’ Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital between 2008 to 2013. It’s unclear how many of the 500 sought treatment once they arrived in California.
Officials from both states declined to comment on the details of the settlement negotiations — a standard practice during legal settlements.
