CHARLESTON – A Putnam County man says he wasn’t properly monitored by CAMC staff when he was hospitalized with psychiatric issues, allowing him to leave the facility and paralyze himself by jumping from the fourth floor of a parking garage.
Luke Mills filed his complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court against Charleston Area Medical Center.
According to the complaint, Mills was admitted to CAMC on January 3, 2022, after he stopped his car on a bridge in Winfield and removed his shoes and coat before jumping from the bridge and falling about 35 feet to the Kanawha River.
On December 21, 2021, the complaint says his mother Mary Mills took her son to the emergency department because he of bizarre behavior and an inability to control himself as well as auditory and visual hallucinations. He said dogs were talking to him, objects were shape shifting and voices were telling him to hurt people.
During that visit, the complaint says Mills became aggressive toward a healthcare provider, fell to the ground in a seizure-like behavior and admitted to suicidal ideations. He was considered a high suicide risk and was medicated and hospitalized before being discharged December 28, 2021, with medication and a follow-up psychiatric appointment.
At CAMC, orders were placed on Mills for a complete elopement risk screen twice a day. Twice daily screenings for homicide risk and suicide also were ordered, and his street clothes and shoes were taken. Once admitted, Mills tried to kill himself or flee multiple times, according to the complaint. Physical and chemical restraints with monitoring were ordered.
The next morning, staff improperly removed the physical restraints without checking with the attending physician, and Mills eloped. He used a stairwell and exited onto Washington Street, where he traveled on foot for several blocks to the parking garage at Laidley Tower. He jumped from the fourth floor of the garage, suffering multiple fractures needing multiple surgeries and has sustained permanent paraplegic injuries.
Mills says CAMC employees deviated from the appropriate standard of care, causing Mills to be able to elope from the hospital and injure himself. He says he also has incurred medical and care expenses as well as pain and suffering that will continue for the rest of his life. He also has suffered loss of earning capacity, annoyance, aggravation and mental anguish.
He seeks compensatory and punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
In its answer, CAMC denies the allegations and seeks to have the case dismissed.
Mills is being represented by William Tiano of Tiano O’Dell in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Duke Bloom.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 22-C-877
