Trapped patient dies in bathroom; family sues

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The family of a heart patient who died when Washington Adventist Hospital personnel were unable to find the key to open his locked bathroom has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Takoma Park hospital, WTOP has learned.

In a filing in Montgomery County Circuit Court, the family of Jose R. Valladares says after he was admitted to the hospital April 11, 2006 with chest pain, he was attached to a heart monitor.

Four days later, Valladares went to the bathroom in his semi-private room and locked the door. While using the toilet, he suffered a cardiac event, and monitors indicated his heart rate was slowing.

However, no hospital staff on the floor or nearby had the key to unlock the door as Valladares' condition worsened, the suit says.

In the 911 call obtained by WTOP, a male hospital employee described, "We have a trapped coding patient in a restroom."

"Coding" is a term used in hospitals to describe a patient in acute medical distress.

By the time Montgomery County Fire and EMS crews broke down the door minutes later, Valladares was already dead.

In the lawsuit, on behalf of Valladares' widow and daughter, Jeffrey Downey writes, "The staff failed to assure they provided a safe environment...in which Mr. Valladares would be accessible in a medical emergency."

Within days of when WTOP first reported the story in 2006, the hospital distributed several more keys to hospital personnel.

Thomas Grant, vice president of communications for Adventist HealthCare, Inc., wouldn't comment on the lawsuit, but says soon after the incident the hospital removed all locks from bathroom doors.

According to the filing, the family is seeking "compensatory damages in excess of $30,000, as compensation for, among other things, mental anguish, emotional pain, loss of society, companionship, comfort, protection, marital care, parental care, attention, advice, counsel, lost income, funeral expenses, other economic losses, attorney's fees, court costs, litigation costs, and interest, along with any other appropriate relief that this Court may determine is warranted."

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