Medical Center faces lawsuit for ‘Understaffed and Unsecured’ conditions
The lawsuit claims Darryl Fussell II, who was in a mental health crisis, escaped Southern Regional Medical Center and was later shot to death by police.
ATLANTA, Ga. (InvestigateTV) - A Georgia hospital is accused, in a lawsuit, of putting vulnerable patients at risk.
In a lawsuit filed by the family of Darryl Lynn Fussell II, Southern Regional Medical Center (SRMC) is facing claims of being understaffed and unsecured.
In April 2023, Fussell, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, was on an involuntary hold at SRMC. He had been classified as a 1013 patient, a status under Georgia law allowing the detainment of an individual in crisis who is posing a danger to themselves or others.
But Fussell managed to run past the nurse watching him and escape the hospital, according to a Clayton County missing person report.
Hours later, Riverdale, Georgia, police responded to a call of a suspicious person after Fussell walked inside a River Park Drive business that was under renovation. Police body cam footage shows Fussell not responding to officers’ questions.
Fussell was kneeling face down on the ground, and as police approached him, he picked up a pair of scissors from a nearby toolbox.
Despite police warnings, Fussell approached police with the scissors, and an officer fired five shots at Fussell.
The Riverdale Police Department found the shooting justified, with no policy violations, and the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office agreed there was no criminal wrongdoing. The agency did not pursue prosecution.
“If Darryl Lynn had never eloped from the hospital, he never would have encountered the police officer,” said his mother, Kimberly Fussell.
“He wanted to get better, and we trusted the system to help us with our son,” she said. “When we were told to take him the hospital, we took him to the hospital.
“A mental health crisis shouldn’t be a death sentence.”
An aspiring music engineer whose family considered him remarkable from day one. Darryl Fussell II was one of the last babies born in 1999, ahead of the new millennium, with his “absolutely amazing” birth covered on the news.
His family is heartbroken that it’s his death now covered on the news.
Fussell was not the first patient to escape SRMC. Clayton County records of missing persons from the hospital over the last three years show at least 44 patients reported missing. According to our analysis, at least 28 of them were psychiatric patients on involuntary holds.
Records from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services show a history of federal policy violations. A federal inspection in 2023 confirmed “a patient found unresponsive in the psych area,” ultimately died. The review found “only one working ed nurse,” was on the shift at the time for the entire unit.
After the report, federal inspectors classified SRMC as being in “Immediate Jeopardy.” That determination is given when a facility’s noncompliance has, or could cause, serious harm or death. The classification makes a hospital potentially ineligible to receive federal funds. SRMC later submitted a corrective action plan, and was subsequently removed from the “Immediate Jeopardy” classification.
A Georgia Department of Community Health investigation conducted before the federal investigation also highlighted some concerns. According to records from the department, which oversees the state’s hospitals, a 2023 complaint alleged a patient died in the behavioral unit. “No clinical staff present for 7 hours prior to his death due to short staffing,” the investigation found. “There was fraudulent false documentation that every 15 minutes observations were being conducted.” The allegation was found to be substantiated.
In 2022, an SRMC employee sent this complaint to state investigators: “I need someone to know about this unsafe hospital; mental health patients running away; ratios can be 1:8; there is never a night shift mental health nurse.” However, state investigators closed the case citing “lack of sufficient evidence.”
“It was only a matter of time before something like [Darryl Fussell II’s death] happened,” said Jayne Lamberti, an attorney representing his family. “It’s foreseeable. It’s preventable. There’s an awareness about the problem and it’s not being taken care of.
“When it’s something as simple as security, it doesn’t cost a lot to keep a facility secure,” she said.
SRMC declined an interview. “Since this is an active legal matter, we have no information to provide at this time,” an SRMC spokesperson said.
The Fussell family, represented by The Cochran Firm Atlanta, is now suing for nursing malpractice, negligence, and wrongful death. In court filings, the hospital’s corporate company denied wrongdoing.
Riverwoods Behavioral Health, the initial facility which transferred Fussell to SRMC, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. “Our deepest sympathies go out to Darryll Fussell’s family,” the facility said in a statement to our investigators. “RiverWoods places the care, well-being, and privacy of our patients as our highest priorities. As such, we cannot comment further.”
When Darryl Lynn Fussell II died, so did the family restaurant where he worked, Fussell Cake Company Restaurant & Bakery.
“We just couldn’t overcome it,” Darryl Lynn Fussell Sr. said. “We have not had the sign come down yet and I don’t know when that’s going to happen, but I guess we have to do that at some point,” Kimberly Fussell cried.
“There’s so many levels of the ball dropping and our son’s situation that it’s egregious,” she said.
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