A Baltimore hospital held a woman against her will for several months, while a psychiatrist repeatedly tried to forcibly inject her with antipsychotic medications—even as two independent experts concluded she showed no signs of psychosis and didn't need inpatient care. The Supreme Court will soon decide if her lawsuit against the hospital can continue in federal court.
"T.M." suffers from a rare medical condition involving Hashimoto's thyroiditis and non-celiac gluten sensitivity where any amount of gluten could trigger a psychotic episode. In 2023, she arrived at the Baltimore Washington Medical Center asking for voluntary admission after experiencing a gluten-induced psychosis. Hospital staff denied T.M.'s request, opting to involuntarily commit her instead without notifying her father, who was responsible for making health care decisions for T.M. when she was unable to. T.M. was not accused of criminal action, nor was she a danger to herself and others. However, the doctor in charge of her care "speculated that, should they release her from her involuntary detention, she would disregard her medications and wind up back in the hospital," says the court docket.
