Can an involuntary commitment be false imprisonment if it is not malpractice?
In Ziegler v. Desiree Aukerman and W.A. Foote Memorial, the Court decisively answered that question "No". After Ziegler was involuntarily committed as a suicide risk, she sued the hospital and a cooperating police officer for false imprisonment. She did not comply with the requirements necessary to establish a medical malpractice claim, alleging that her claim was a separate, independent cause of action. The Court properly rejected that theory, noting that the proper practice of medicine may result in an involuntary commitment, and that in order to constitute an assault or a wrongful detention, the commitment must be professionally negligent.