Estate of Karen Thiel and Lamar Thiel v. Adams County Public Hospital District #2, et al.

Spokane, Washington personal injury lawyer represented the Plaintiffs on a Washington Law Against Discrimination ("WLAD") theory.



The complaint alleged that Karen Thiel suffered from Lewy body dementia. Due to her dementia, Thiel had "limited communication abilities” and required "special attention and assessment.” On January 9, 2019, Thiel was admitted into the swing bed facility at EARH. On January 29, 2019, Thiel attempted to stand up from her chair and fell, breaking her hip. Immediately after the fall, defendant Matthew Mecham, a registered nurse at EARH, heard Thiel call for help and complain about hip pain, but did nothing. EARH staff placed Thiel back in her chair and did not examine her for injuries. No one immediately charted the fall, nor did anyone inform other staff about the fall. Other EARH staff, unaware of the fall, later attempted to make Thiel walk on multiple occasions, which was excruciatingly painful. Thiel's broken hip was detected the day after the fall by physical therapy staff when they also attempted to make her walk. Mecham then attempted to create a backdated record of the fall on Thiel's chart, thirty-six hours after the fall.

Dismissed on Defendants' motion.



Affirmed