Inset: Chelsea Adolphus (Facebook). Background: Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, Illinois (Google Maps).
Attorney Ben Crump, specializing in civil rights, has initiated legal action against an Illinois medical facility following the tragic death of a woman who was stuck on the hospital’s roof for almost seven hours, resulting in her body temperature plummeting to 50 degrees.
The incident unfolded when Chelsea Adolphus, aged 28, wandered out of her room at Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan around 2 a.m. on Jan. 23, eventually finding herself on the rooftop, clad only in a hospital gown. She remained there until approximately 8:45 a.m., enduring temperatures in the low 20s, with a real feel of 10 degrees in the Chicago region that morning, as disclosed by Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek during a media briefing.
Upon being found, Adolphus was promptly transported by hospital personnel to the emergency area, where they labored for hours attempting to raise her body temperature, Banek reported. Despite their endeavors, they were unable to revive her, and she was pronounced dead by the medical team. The initial determination regarding the cause of death is hypothermia, as stated by Banek.
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Officials are trying to figure out how Adolphus got up to the roof and why it took so long for hospital staff to realize she was missing. Crump said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that Adolphus “wandered through an unsecured door” and then became locked out. The attorney called the situation “unacceptable negligence.”
“A hospital — a place meant for healing — became Chelsea’s death trap,” he wrote, adding he wants the hospital “accountable for her preventable death.”
Adolphus had been admitted to the hospital the day before for unspecified medical issues.
Banek said since 2023 in her job as a coroner she has “voiced my concerns about the lack of care and safety measures in place” at the hospital. She said the hospital has lacked blood supply and staff to treat trauma patients. Just days before Adolphus’ death, Banek pointed out on her Facebook page that the hospital’s parent company, American Healthcare Systems, furloughed about 70 employees.
“Waukegan and the community Vista serves deserves better than what American Healthcare Systems is delivering,” she wrote.
Vista CEO Kevin M. Spiegel held a press conference of his own challenging some of Banek’s assertions. He said the furloughs had nothing to do with the tragedy.
“These claims are entirely unfounded and absolutely false,” Spiegel said, according to Chicago NBC affiliate WMAQ. “We have filed a request to the court for an emergency injunction to have her removed from this investigation and replaced with an impartial party.”
The lawsuit accuses the hospital of negligence and medical malpractice.
“We will get justice for Chelsea Adolphus,” Crump told reporters.
