(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Families of Montana State Hospital patients sue state for alleged negligence – Daily Montanan [1] ['Nicole Girten', 'More From Author', '- November'] Date: 2023-11-01 David Patzoldt, a 75 year-old man with several physical and behavioral health conditions, died at the Montana State Hospital after staff didn’t administer his heart medication for more than two weeks in November 2021, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the Butte Division U.S. District Court of Montana. The plaintiffs are suing the state for alleged negligence and facility mismanagement at the Montana State Hospital. Plaintiffs consist of families of deceased patients, along with one current and 20 anonymous patients, at the hospital. Patient families described stories of their loved ones being over-medicated, staff not communicating medical incidents to families, and lapses in administering medication, among other complaints. Defendants listed include Gov. Greg Gianforte, Department of Public Health and Human Services Charlie Brereton and Montana State Hospital administrator David Culberson. Spokesperson for DPHHS Jon Ebelt said the department does not generally comment on pending litigation. Challenges at the facility in Warm Springs have been ongoing for decades, with it losing its federal accreditation in 2022, resulting in a struggle to retain staff to meet the ongoing needs at the facility – all facts laid out in the lawsuit. Families are asking for damages from the state, alleging “there can be no credible argument that Defendants are unaware of the threats to patient safety at MSH.” Incidents included a patient dying after medications were not being administered, claims of “over-medication,” and alleged destruction of video after a patient was permitted to elope and engage in inappropriate behavior, against hospital policy. Plaintiffs are requesting a jury trial and allege the hospital acted “maliciously and with conscious disregard for the safety and rights of Plaintiffs, and they amount to deliberate indifference to Plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.” “The individual Defendants have personally participated in the unconstitutional and negligent treatment suffered by Plaintiffs,” the filing read. “These Defendants have refused to take steps to ameliorate neglectful treatment made known to them by family members of Plaintiffs, through governmental agencies, members of the public, and likely through its own employees at DPHHS and MSH.” Plaintiffs also described the state hospital as a “decrepit and unsafe facility,” listing instances inspectors found urine odor, debris and black-spotted substances in several places. Estates for deceased patients are listed as plaintiffs in the suit, claiming the hospital was responsible for the patients’ deaths. The lawsuit alleged patient Lucio DiMauro, recovering from a traumatic brain injury, was “regularly over-medicated by MSH staff.” When he was admitted in 2020, DiMauro was able to walk with a walker. However, the lawsuit said during a second admission at Warm Springs, DiMauro fell numerous times, and following a diagnosis of stage four colon cancer, DiMauro died days after a fall left him with an open, untreated head wound. Lesley Jungers, still a patient at the state hospital, was locked in seclusion against her family’s wishes for two weeks after she attempted to escape during a Covid-19 outbreak in the facility. The family, in trying to communicate with Jungers, overheard a hospital employee saying Jungers was “a pain in the ass,” according to the complaint. Prior to this incident, Jungers, who has been treated for bipolar disorder, was allowed by hospital staff to elope and “engage in inappropriate sexual contact with a male resident,” the lawsuit said. After she was placed in seclusion, Jungers was again allowed to elope and was “found naked in the observation/seclusion area with another resident.” Hospital staff later told her family video evidence of the incident was “taken care of” or similar words: “The family interpreted the statement to mean that it had been destroyed,” the lawsuit said. Patzoldt, a 75 year-old man with conditions including Alzheimer’s dementia, chronic congestive heart failure and possible personality disorders , died after the hospital did not administer his heart medication, the lawsuit said. Plaintiffs said the hospital didn’t administer his heart medication for more than two weeks in November of 2021, during which time his condition worsened. “Mr. Patzoldt’s congestive heart failure was exacerbated due to an ‘oversight’ in administering Mr. Patzoldt’s heart medication,” the lawsuit read. The filing said Patzoldt had a significant change in mental status in relation to sepsis on January 23, 2022, at which point all oral medications were held, according to the complaint. He died three days later from sepsis, Covid-19 and cellulitis. “At all times during his residency at MSH, the plan was for Mr. Patzoldt to return to live with his family once appropriate housing was in place,” the lawsuit read. “That never occurred due to his death while in the legal custody of MSH.” Plaintiffs cited both the state constitution and Montana Code Annotated protections for patients, noting the constitution protects against negligence. The state has 21 days to respond to the filing. 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