Woman Found Dead From Hypothermia On Hospital Roof: ‘We Want To Know Exactly What Happened’

by Gee NY

The family of Chelsea Adolphus has filed a lawsuit against Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, Illinois, after the 28-year-old tragically died from hypothermia when she was locked outside on the hospital’s second-story roof for hours.

According to investigators, Adolphus, who had been admitted for a minor medical issue, wandered through an unsecured door around 2 a.m. on Jan. 25, 2025.

Once outside, the door locked behind her, leaving her stranded in freezing temperatures with no one noticing for nearly seven hours. By the time hospital staff discovered her at 8:45 a.m., her body temperature had plummeted to 50 degrees.

She was rushed to the emergency room, where doctors worked for 14 hours to save her, but she was pronounced dead at 11:03 p.m. The preliminary cause of death was hypothermia.

Her brother, speaking on behalf of the devastated family, demanded answers: “We want to know exactly what happened from when my sister stepped foot in that facility.”

Vista Medical Center issued a brief statement offering condolences but declined to provide further details, citing HIPAA regulations.

However, Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banik, a former hospital employee, criticized the facility’s handling of patient safety. She pointed to past concerns, including the hospital’s loss of its Level 2 trauma center designation after furloughing 69 employees. “

This could have been prevented,” Banik said, suggesting that Adolphus might have been safer if she had been assigned a sitter to monitor her condition.

The family’s attorney is pursuing legal action, arguing that Vista Medical Center’s failure to implement basic security measures led to a preventable tragedy.

The lawsuit seeks to hold the hospital accountable and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

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