From an investigation by WIVB TV
Patience Lucas' life ended on the night of February 1, 2002. She was only 37 years old.
Michael Drumm, attorney, "We believe that she was trying to get to the bus stop on the other side of Grider Street and she collapsed in Grider Street and a few minutes later was run over by a car."
Patience had just been discharged from the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo. Sharon Whyte tells me her sister was schizophrenic and bipolar.
Sharon Whyte, Patience Lucas' sister, "We loved her, very much. And it was a huge loss in our family."
Just before she was struck by a car that night, a witness said it looked like she was gasping for air and then collapsed in the street. Attorney Michael Drumm is representing the family in a civil lawsuit.
Michael Drumm, attorney, "Clearly the care at ECMC directly caused her death."
That night she was taken to ECMC for a self-induced head injury. She was then transferred to the hospital's psychiatric unit for a mental evaluation.
Sharon Whyte, Patience Lucas' sister, "They never took the time to really care about how to treat her."
In court papers, the family is alleging that ECMC and the attending psychiatrist failed to provide proper and adequate care. A state medical review board noted that patience was detained at the hospital's psychiatric unit for 35 minutes, an insufficient amount of time, the review board found, to do a thorough analysis of her mental status.
In response, the hospital's clinical director wrote, "We do not disagree with this finding."
Michael Drumm, attorney, "Not only was she not evaluated properly, but she was literally assaulted by one of the security guards and then physically removed from the hospital."
In a pretrial deposition, the attending psychiatrist says he observed one of the guards holding patience in a headlock, telling her, "I'm going to break your head wide open if you don't shut up." Statements by security personnel on duty that night indicate that she was loud, belligerent and physical. One guard stated that he heard the same psychiatrist say, "Get her out, get her the f--- out of here." Keep in mind it was cold and blustery that night and buses were no longer running.
Michael Drumm, attorney, "No provision was made to transport her home, no effort was made to contact her family, no effort was made to contact her treating psychiatrist or her case worker, none of those things were done in this case."
About ten days earlier, Patience was treated at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center. Attorney Michael Drumm claims that began a chain of events that led to her death the lawsuit alleges the hospital was negligent because it prematurely discharged patience when it was not safe and did so in an improperly medicated condition.
Michael Drumm, attorney, "She was so out of control the next morning that they had to tranquilize her in order to get her out of the hospital."
Niagara Falls Memorial released this statement, "We deny all allegations and intend to vigorously defend against them."
No court case will ever bring back Patience, however, family members are hoping it will shed some light and bring about change.
Sharon Whyte, Patience Lucas' sister, "If this can prevent another family from having to go through what we went through or another mentally ill person having to feel like nobody's listening to them, then this will have been all worth it."
Erie County is named in the lawsuit because it operated ECMC back in 2002, the county attorney's office declined comment on the case, so did the attorney representing two psychiatrists named in the lawsuit.
Jury selection in the civil trial is scheduled for later this week in State Supreme Court.
No comments:
Post a Comment