Emergency Commitment Laws in Louisiana
If you are a relative or concerned friend, and you believe a person to be harmful to
themselves or others and/or unable to function due to possible psychosis or severe
psychiatric problems and the person is unwilling to come in voluntarily for an evaluation,
then you may contact the coroner's office in your parish and request that they issue an
Order of Protective Custody (OPC) for the individual. After an OPC is issued, then the
coroner's office or a police/sheriff may pick the individual up and transport them to the
nearest mental health clinic or the after hours location for an evaluation by the
psychiatrist.
OPC: Order for protective custody
“A peace officer or a peace officer accompanied by an emergency medical service
trained technician may take a person into protective custody and transport him to a
treatment facility for a medical evaluation when, as a result of his personal observation,
the peace officer or emergency medical service technician has reasonable grounds to
believe the person is a proper subject for involuntary admission to a treatment facility
because the person is acting in a manner dangerous to himself or dangerous to others, is
gravely disabled, and is in need of immediate hospitalization to protect such a person or
others from physical harm.”
PEC: Physician’s Emergency Certificate
The psychiatrist will then assess what the person's condition requires, i.e., hospitalization,
medication, outpatient therapy or perhaps no treatment at all, in which case the individual
may be released. A Physician's Emergency Certificate allows for a person to be
committed to a psychiatric facility, and is only valid for 72 hours from the time of
admission. Psychiatrist makes determination regarding the need of hospitalization and
completes PEC if indicated.
CEC: Coroner’s Emergency Certificate
Within seventy-two hours of admission, the person shall be independently examined by
the coroner or his deputy who shall execute an emergency certificate, pursuant to
Subsection B, which shall be a necessary precondition to the person's continued
confinement.” A Coroner's Emergency Certificate, if signed within 72 hours of
committal, allows that person to be held for another 15 days from time of PEC.