Rhode Island § 40.1-5-37 § 40.1-5-37. Service of process on patients.

Rhode Island Statutes

§ 40.1-5-37 — § 40.1-5-37. Service of process on patients.

Rhode Island § 40.1-5-37

Title 40.1Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals

Ch. 40.1-5Mental Health Law

This text of Rhode Island § 40.1-5-37 (§ 40.1-5-37. Service of process on patients.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

R.I. Gen. Laws § 40.1-5-37 (2026).

Text

§ 40.1-5-37. Service of process on patients.
No civil process or notice shall be served upon any patient, unless the officer or
            person charged with the service shall apply to the physician in charge of the facility,
            or his or her designated agent, where the patient is confined, and receive a statement
            from the physician that service of the process or notice will not be injurious to
            the mental health of the patient, and the statement shall be annexed to his or her
            return of service. In the event that the physician in charge, or his designated agent,
            shall state that it would be injurious to the mental health of the patient, the process
            or

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§ 40.1-5-37. Service of process on patients.

No civil process or notice shall be served upon any patient, unless the officer or person charged with the service shall apply to the physician in charge of the facility, or his or her designated agent, where the patient is confined, and receive a statement from the physician that service of the process or notice will not be injurious to the mental health of the patient, and the statement shall be annexed to his or her return of service. In the event that the physician in charge, or his designated agent, shall state that it would be injurious to the mental health of the patient, the process or notice shall not be served on the patient and the statement shall be set forth in his or her return, and the court shall order notice of the process or notice to be published and shall appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the interests of the patient, whether the patient be otherwise represented or not.