Lawsuit alleges Washington state hospital responsible for 12-year-old's suicide

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.

The mother of a 12-year-old girl who died by suicide at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center last month is suing the hospital for alleged negligence and medical malpractice.

Sarah Niyimbona, who was being treated at the Spokane hospital for self-harm and suicide attempts, had been monitored round-the-clock by video and a health care worker, or "sitter," assigned to her room, according to the wrongful death lawsuit. Both were removed before April 13, the day Sarah slipped out of the pediatric unit, walked a quarter mile to the fourth floor of a parking structure and jumped. She died two hours later in the emergency room. 

The details and timelines spelled out in the lawsuit align with what Sarah’s family and Sacred Heart staff told InvestigateWest in the days following her death. Sarah had been receiving intermittent psychiatric care at the hospital over an eight-month period, and since January, had been staying in Providence’s general pediatrics unit.  

Asha Joseph, Sarah's sister, told InvestigateWest that the family did not find out that Sarah's sitter was removed until after she jumped from the parking garage. The hospital has not answered the family's questions about why her care was changed, Joseph said. The family has requested Sarah's medical records but Providence has provided none, she said.

Providence spokesperson Beth Hegde refused to answer questions about the lawsuit that was filed Friday in Spokane County Superior Court. Since Sarah's death, Hegde has declined several requests for an interview and won't answer emailed questions. In a written statement last week, she called Sarah's death "tragic" and said the hospital immediately launched a formal internal review.  

The Washington Department of Health also launched an investigation into Sarah's death and alerted the hospital that it was out of compliance and could be putting patient safety in jeopardy after learning of the incident from InvestigateWest's reporting. Providence Sacred Heart responded by submitting a safety plan to address the deficiencies. 

Because Sarah was a flight risk, there was an alarm on her door to notify staff each time she opened it. On the day she died, Providence "failed to properly utilize and monitor alarms in Sarah's room allowing her to escape," according to the lawsuit, which claims unspecified damages for pain and suffering, funeral expenses and other losses. 

The lawsuit alleges that Providence and staff who were caring for Sarah violated Washington's standard of care — the legal baseline against which health care providers are measured. 

"Providence's violations of the standard of care injured and/or led to the death of plaintiff Sarah Niyimbona," according to the lawsuit.

Matt Conner, attorney for Sarah’s mother Nasra Gertrude, declined to answer questions about which specific standards the hospital violated. 

The lawsuit also claims that Providence failed to adopt and follow adequate policies to care for, monitor, and keep safe youth experiencing mental health crises. 

Sarah’s death comes just six months after the hospital closed its Psychiatric Center for Children and Adolescents over the objections of staff and community members concerned about a lack of beds for youth in need of inpatient mental health care. 

In January, Sarah was moved from Providence's emergency room to the general pediatrics unit, where the hospital converted two rooms into new psychiatric beds last fall. Those rooms lack safety measures that were present in the shuttered unit such as locked doors that make it harder for children to leave undetected. Pediatric staff, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing their jobs, told InvestigateWest that they had also expressed concerns about Sarah’s safety to hospital management but were ignored.

“This was a needless tragedy,” Conner said. “And the hospital should have done more to prevent it.”

Whitney Bryen reports on injustice and vulnerable populations for InvestigateWest. A journalist since 2010, she is dedicated to raising marginalized voices and holding power to account especially at the intersection of mental health and criminal justice. Reach her at 208-918-2458 or whitney@investigatewest.org. 

Kaylee Tornay is InvestigateWest's reporter covering labor, youth and health care. A reporter since 2017, she has dedicated herself to rigorous, revelatory journalism that scrutinizes power and equips local communities with knowledge they can use. Reach her at 503-877-4108 or kaylee@investigatewest.org.

InvestigateWest is part of the Mental Health Parity Collaborative, a group of newsrooms that are covering stories on mental health care access and inequities in the U.S. The partners on this project include The Carter Center and newsrooms in select states across the country.