Lawsuit: Family of man who died at Oregon psychiatric hospital says retaliation caused death

As reported in the Statesman Journal

You can read the lawsuit filing at this link

Sounds like people tried to cover things up, and retaliated when these efforts failed

The family of a man who died in Oregon State Hospital early this year is suing the State of Oregon, alleging Chris Crawford's death was the direct result of hospital staff retaliating when he alerted police and the media to patient sexual abuse in the hospital.

Crawford died on Jan. 3, and the state has never released any information related to his death, in spite of investigations by the Oregon State Police, Marion County Medical Examiner and Office of Adult Abuse Prevention and Investigations.

The tort claim was filed Dec. 5 by Dennis Steinman of Kell, Alterman & Runstein, LLP in Portland, on behalf of Crawford's sister, Lisa Feehely.

It alleges the following:

Crawford, 48, discovered in August 2013 that a hospital nurse was having sex with a patient, which is illegal. He reported the relationship to two hospital supervisors, who told him "they were aware of the relationship and that (he) should keep the information confidential."

He disagreed with that direction and instead told the Oregon State Police, the Statesman Journal and the Oregonian.

In October 2013, staff changed Crawford's living arrangements. He had been living on a ward where patients were granted a fair amount of independence and where he was not expected to take much medication. He always took some to treat his bipolar disorder, but the dose was minimal.

Staff moved him to a different ward, where he was watched by a staff member who never left his side. He was given far more medication, which "put him in a state of near-constant sedation."

He died three months later, after telling friends and family he feared for his life. The toxicology report that followed showed at least eight distinct medications in his system.

"(Oregon State Hospital) and its agents owed a duty to Mr. Crawford to keep him safe from harm," Steinman wrote. "Instead, OSH retaliated against Mr. Crawford because he had reported unlawful conduct of an OSH employee to the media. In doing so, OSH subjected Mr. Crawford to an unnecessary and destructive medication regimen that significantly impaired his quality of life and led to his untimely death. ... OSH's employees were deliberately indifferent to Mr. Crawford's rights and their actions were a substantial factor in his death."

The claim includes allegations of wrongful death, violations of whistle-blower laws and violations of Crawford's constitutional rights.

Public records later showed Crawford had been correct about Jennifer Barren, the nurse he claimed was sleeping with a patient. She resigned from the hospital on August 13, 2013, and the Oregon State Police closed its investigation on Sept. 13.

The state issued its own report, which found Barren had sexually abused a male patient for as many as two years.

The report said Barren and the patient were caught on a security camera six times going into a linen closet. It also found that the relationship apparently continued after Barren had resigned and the investigation was underway. Phone records showed Barren and the patient spoke on the phone at least 110 times, for a total of 113 hours, between Nov. 8 and Nov. 24.

The report was not released publicly until March 2014, two months after Crawford died.

Crawford was admitted to the hospital in 1992, when he was 27, after being found guilty except for insanity on one count each of burglary, attempted rape and sex abuse in the first degree.

Court records show he was convicted on felony escape charges twice during his time at the hospital, once in 1999 and once in 2003.

However, Steinman said Crawford was a "very high functioning patient" for nearly all his time in the hospital and he had participated in many programs and activities, enjoying a fairly high level of freedom.

Hospital spokeswoman Rebeka Gipson-King said the hospital would not comment on the tort claim. The hospital has not released Crawford's autopsy or the state investigation into his death.