Family of Sarah Niyimbona file lawsuit against Providence Sacred Heart over 12-year-old's death
May 10—The family of Sarah Niyimbona has filed a lawsuit against Providence Sacred Heart for the hospital's alleged neglect and medical malpractice that led to the girl's death.
Niyimbona had been a patient at Sacred Heart since January for repeated attempts to end her own life. On April 13, the 12-year-old was able to leave her hospital bed undetected and died from injuries sustained from jumping off a nearby Providence parking garage.
Providence Sacred Heart declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit filed Friday alleges Providence and its employees "failed to follow the applicable standard of care and were therefore negligent."
"Defendant Providence failed to adopt and follow adequate policies and procedures with respect to the care and treatment of minor individuals such as Sarah Niyimbona experiencing mental health crises requiring in-patient treatment," reads the lawsuit.
The suit also alleges Providence failed to adopt and follow adequate policies related to "monitoring, security, and safety of minor individuals."
"Sarah Niyimbona was injured and died as a result of these failures. These failures were, individually and in combination, a proximate cause of the injury and death," it reads.
Nasra Gertrude, Sarah's mother, represents the estate of her daughter in the suit filed in Spokane County Superior Court. She is represented by attorneys David Brown and Matt Conner of personal injury law firm Brett McCandlis Brown & Conner.
Speaking to The Spokesman-Review earlier this month, Gertrude blamed her daughter's death on Sacred Heart .
"I feel like they neglect my daughter and they neglect me. I feel like they were tired seeing Sarah there, so they didn't care about looking after her all the time," she said.
The Department of Health is also engaged in an investigation into Niyimbona's death, the agency said this week.
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