Hospital Sued After Patient Dies from Hypothermia

Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump has initiated legal proceedings against an Illinois-based hospital following the death of a woman who was trapped on the hospital’s rooftop for nearly seven hours, leading to a drastic drop in her body temperature to 50 degrees. The woman, identified as 28-year-old Chelsea Adolphus, had left her room at Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan around 2 a.m. on January 23 and somehow ended up on the roof. She was found around 8:45 a.m., wearing only a hospital gown in temperatures that were in the low 20s but felt like 10 degrees.

Upon discovery, Adolphus was immediately taken to the emergency department where medical personnel attempted to raise her body temperature. However, their efforts were unsuccessful and Adolphus was pronounced dead. Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek, who disclosed these details to the press, stated that the preliminary cause of death was hypothermia.

The circumstances surrounding how Adolphus managed to reach the roof and why it took the hospital staff an extended period to notice her absence are currently under investigation. Crump, in a social media post, suggested that Adolphus had accessed the roof through an unsecured door and was subsequently locked out. He labeled the incident as a case of “unacceptable negligence.”

Crump further criticized the hospital, stating that it had failed in its duty to provide care and safety, leading to Adolphus’s preventable death. Adolphus had been admitted to the hospital a day prior for undisclosed medical issues.

Banek, who has been a coroner since 2023, expressed her concerns about the hospital’s lack of care and safety measures. She highlighted the hospital’s shortage of blood supply and staff to treat trauma patients. She also noted that the hospital’s parent company, American Healthcare Systems, had recently furloughed approximately 70 employees.

In response to Banek’s claims, Vista CEO Kevin M. Spiegel held a press conference where he refuted the allegations, stating that the furloughs were unrelated to the incident. He also denied the claims of negligence and requested the court for an emergency injunction to replace Banek with an impartial investigator in the case.

The lawsuit filed by Crump accuses the hospital of negligence and medical malpractice. Crump vowed to secure justice for Chelsea Adolphus.