Detroit Medical Center sued over patient records in probe of death, injuries

A Michigan agency investigating the death of a mental health patient and injuries to two others at a Detroit Medical Center hospital filed a federal lawsuit seeking records the hospital refuses to release. According to court documents, a person died in April after being placed in restraints at Detroit Receiving Hospital's psychiatric crisis center. The subsequent investigation by Michigan Protection and Advocacy Services ended when hospital attorneys denied a request for peer review records of the incident, correspondence with state licensing and health agencies and video and audio records. Hospital attorneys cited privacy law and immunity to the records request.