Meet Sean, a VLA mental health lawyer

Sean is on the team that helps protect the rights of Vermonters with mental health challenges like Helene.

When Helene was committed to the hospital, the hospital sought approval to medicate her involuntarily — even though Helene was already accepting prescribed medications after consultation with her psychiatrist.

The state also asked the court to order medications that were not in the state’s application for involuntary medication. And they were not disclosed to Helene’s lawyer until the night before the hearing.

We successfully represented Helene, convincing the court to deny the hospital’s request because she was already accepting medications voluntarily.