Psych Patient’s Broken Neck Goes Unnoticed, and then Untreated

Diane Rodriguez sang, prayed, and bounced on her bed in California’s Metropolitan State Hospital, but was found motionless on the floor in the morning. At least an hour passed before her injuries were assessed, and four more before help was called, saying “she’s paralyzed only, not life-threatening.” She died six months later. The California Department of Mental Health has found “gross negligence”, “incompetence, fraud, dishonesty, along with numerous policy and procedure violations” in a hospital that had been repeatedly criticized for “failing to provide people with minimally adequate care.”

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