A Florida mother filed a lawsuit against her daughter's former health care provider and three of its employees, after the developmentally disabled 23-year-old was raped, impregnated and suffered physical injuries inside the facility.
The lawsuit addressing the National Mentor Healthcare's Pensacola Cluster said that the facility has not provided proper care for the 23-years old woman who has profound intellectual disabilities, a neurological disorder called Rett syndrome and other physical ailments.
The patient is nonverbal and immobile, the lawsuit says. She also has trouble using her hands and arms.
"Our client's mother is outraged and devastated by what happened to her daughter, and wants to protect her daughter from abuse and for her daughter to be safe," attorney James Green Jr. said in a statement Thursday.
The case was investigated last year by the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, which said it couldn't identify a suspect and was abandoned due to insufficient proofs.
The victim's mother claimed that her daughter sustained a broken hip injury and was discovered to be pregnant while going through pre-surgery checks.
Adding that her daughter suffered a miscarriage but did not cite a specific time.
The executive director of the Mentor Network, which oversees the Pensacola Cluster, said the facility is cooperating with the investigation and the company is committed to making a positive difference with patients.
"We take our obligation to ensure the well-being of those we serve very seriously, including compliance with all reporting requirements," Carol Swanson said. "As part of our overall commitment to continuous quality improvement, we regularly review our protocols with the goal of enhancing the quality of our services and minimizing any risk to the health and safety of the individuals we support."
Investigators conducted DNA analysis and interviews with people who had contact with the woman, the statement said, but there weren't any matches because the office lacked an "initial" DNA profile.
The lawsuit asks for unspecified damages and for costs covering medical and legal expenses and money spent on moving the woman to a new facility. The mother is the legal guardian of the 23-year-old woman.
