Deadly Restraint: A Hartford Courant Investigative Report

Hartford Courant DEADLY RESTRAINT
Investigation DATA BASE

Series Citation:
Weiss EM, et al. Deadly restraint: a Hartford Courant investigative report.
Hartford Courant 1998; October 11 – 15.

National Restraint Death Database

A team of Hartford Courant reporters and researchers has compiled the following national database, which is believed to be the first of its kind.

Representing five months of research, the database is intended to shed light on deaths tht occurred during or shortly after psychiatric or developmentally disabled patients were restrained or secluded.

The database documents 142 deaths from 1988 to the present [1998], as identified by public agencies, advocacy offices and news accounts. The reporting team focused on deaths in psychiatric hospitals, psychiatric wards of general hospitals, group homes and residential facilities for troubled youths, and mental retardation centers and group homes.

It is important to note that death following restraint or seclusion does not necessarily mean the institution provided deficient care. In New York state cases, where that information was explicitly provided, we have noted it.

This database provides as much information as could be gathered from public records, interviews and news accounts. In some instances, public agencies have withheld the names of patients or other details. New York, for example, keeps records of all deaths in which restraint may have played a role, but identifies patients by case number only.

Database
The database[s that follow are] organized by state, and then chronologically within each state.

Data Key:
N/A – Information not available
P – Physical restraint hold ... M – Mechanical restraint ... S – Seclusion
H – Hospital ... R – Residential facility