Deceased woman’s family files suit

The family of a Jamestown woman who died last year after walking away from Sonora Regional Medical Center took preliminary steps toward filing a lawsuit this month.

Family members of Marlo Chadwick, who died last summer, filed a notice of intent to sue against Sonora Regional Medical Center and Tuolumne County on Wednesday. The notice alleges the hospital and county were negligent when they failed to confine Chadwick, who left the hospital on July 1 after being placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold because she stopped taking anti-psychotic medication.    
   

The complaint also alleges the hospital and county failed to notify family members when she left the emergency room.

Chadwick was found dead in a pasture off Highway 108 more than a month after her disappearance.

A notice of intent to sue is a preliminary step in seeking damages from a medical institution and is often followed by a lawsuit after a 90-day waiting period.

The plaintiffs in the suit — Robin and Elizabeth Chadwick, Judith Dusseau, Patricia Van Sickle and Diane Ellen Smith — are all sisters of the deceased woman.

Robin Chadwick said the county and hospital are responsible for her sister’s death because they failed to notify her family after she went missing. Chadwick said she dropped her sister off at the ER to receive psychological help and only learned weeks later that she was missing.

Chadwick said she doesn’t know how much money the family will seek in a wrongful death suit, but said she is more interested in seeing Sonora Regional and county Behavioral Health fix the problems that led to her sister’s death.

“I don’t care about the money or anything like that, I just don’t want it to happen again,” Chadwick said. “If they just would have called her emergency contact we would have found her that night.”

The notice of intent to sue does not specify damages. However, a complaint filed Jan. 3 against the county by family members sought $10 million in damages related to “funeral and burial expenses, loss of financial support, loss of services, loss of decedent’s comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support.”

County Counsel Gregory Oliver said the $10 million claim was rejected, and he won’t know how the county will proceed with the case until the Chadwick family has officially filed suit.

“Until I have a lawsuit and see what they are alleging, I really can’t speculate what might happen here,” he said.

Stockton attorney J. Anthony Abbott is representing the Chadwick sisters in the suit. He said he is in the preliminary stages of investigating the case and is still seeking records from Behavioral Health.

He said wrongful death cases are often complicated and can take anywhere from a few months to several years to conclude.

“It’s impossible to say when a resolution may happen,” Abbott said.
   
Contact Ryan Campbell at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 588-4526.