Margolis & Cross Litigate NGRI Case to a $1 Million Settlement

June 9, 2022

In May 2022, our firm settled a case where we represented four individuals whose rights were violated after being committed to a psychiatric hospital after they pled Not Guilty Reason of Insanity (NGRI). Our clients’ substantive and procedural due process rights were repeatedly violated, as were their protections afforded mentally ill individuals under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act. After years of contesting liability and forcing our office to litigate these complex claims in federal court, the State of Michigan ultimately settled the case and agreed to a comprehensive overhaul of the state’s psychiatric inpatient care system related to its protocol for NGRI patients. The State of Michigan continues to be monitored under a consent degree in order to ensure adherence to terms that provide the mentally ill basic and necessary constitutional rights. The case continues to be litigated against a separate defendant, who assisted the State in depriving these disabled individuals of their rights under the law. We hope to take that case to trial so a Michigan jury can hear the truth of how our government and related community mental health service providers mistreat our most vulnerable citizens. 

We are proud to have received a $1,000,000 settlement from the State of Michigan on behalf of our clients and to have the State policed under the terms of the consent decree for the foreseeable future. For more information on the case, click here to read the case’s article in Michigan Lawyers Weekly. For more information on our experience and work with NGRI cases and disability rights, please do not hesitate to contact or visit our office.