Man sues hospital after 20-year confinement

PANAMA CITY BEACH — John Montin returned to his hometown last year after a 20-year odyssey that saw him confined to a mental hospital even though, he claims in a lawsuit, he was not mentally ill.

Montin, 52, of Panama City Beach, was released from a Nebraska hospital last year, 20 years after jurors acquitted him of attempted murder and found him not responsible by reason of insanity of other charges. He was committed as a result of the verdict.

His lawsuit alleges the hospital and its staff members relied on incorrect information to hold him long after his illness had been successfully treated. In that time, he said he spent a year in solitary confinement and missed his mother’s death and funeral. His suit, filed last month in the district of Nebraska federal court, seeks millions of dollars in damages.

Montin grew up in St. Andrews, where his family ran a sporting goods store. He joined the Army, then worked as a commercial fisherman for several years until he hurt himself. He had a workman’s compensation claim that was resolved and included enough back pay to either go back to school or start a small business.

But Montin wasn’t sure which path he would take, so he set out on a vision quest of sorts. He headed west on a camping trip to do some “soul searching.”

“I call it the camping trip to hell,” he said.

In the Army he’d been stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington for a time, and he returned to explore the area without “playing Army.” He spent some time at Glacier National Park, and he was headed back to Florida when he found himself in Nebraska one night.

The local papers at the time said he wandered onto an older couple’s property and began shouting and scaring the residents. The first officer to respond would say Montin shot at him, and there were allegations he opened fire on several law enforcement officers. After an 11-hour standoff, Montin was arrested. Nobody was hurt.

The story jurors heard was different, and most of the charges against him were dismissed for lack of evidence. Still, he was diagnosed with mental illness and committed.

Montin said the doctors at the hospital relied on false or faulty information when they re-evaluated his condition. The hospital, Lincoln Regional Center, is operated by Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services, which does not comment on pending litigation, a spokeswoman said.

Montin didn’t want to talk too much about the lawsuit either, either.

For now, Montin is back home, trying to rebuild a life. He’s working and trying to resolve issues of his parents’ estate. He’s met a woman with children, and he is enjoying being involved in their lives.

“The truth doesn’t make you right, and being right doesn’t mean you’re going to win,” he said.