57 Year Old Lynne Spalding Missing Since 9/21/13 in San Francisco, CA

[Sister]

yes, finally the truth is coming out!

How heartbreaking for this family.

 

[grace-land]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/feb/10/brother-of-woman-found-dead-in-hospital-speaks-out/

Brother of woman found dead in hospital speaks out
9:05 p.m.Feb. 10, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The twin brother of a woman found dead in the locked stairwell of a San Francisco hospital has spoken to the media for the first time since her death last October.

Bill Spalding, the twin brother of 57-year-old Lynne Spalding, told KRON-TV on Monday that he blames nurses and security guards at the hospital for her death.

He said that his sister was a very special person and that when people met her, they couldn't forget her.

Bill Spalding, who lives in the United Kingdom, also told the station that he has visited the stairwell at San Francisco General Hospital where she was found 17 days after she was first reported missing.

Spalding said he plans to return to witness any court proceedings related to his sister's death.
 

[grace-land]

After her brother visited the stairwell where Lynne died, he said: "“It was a case of humanity. It wasn’t complicated at all, it was simple.”     

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Lynne-Spalding-s-family-moves-toward-lawsuit-5289391.php

Lynne Spalding's family moves toward lawsuit
Published 6:52 pm, Tuesday, March 4, 2014

(03-04) 18:50 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- The family of a woman who was found dead in a San Francisco General Hospital stairwell more than two weeks after she disappeared from her hospital bed filed a legal claim Tuesday against the city seeking unspecified monetary damages, a step that is a precursor to a lawsuit.
 
The complaint against the city-run hospital and the San Francisco Sheriff's Department, which provides security there, seeks unspecified damages in excess of $25,000.

It outlines alleged failures in four main areas in Spalding's death: medical malpractice, violation of the state's elder abuse and adult dependency law, negligence by sheriff's deputies as the contracted security force, and maintenance of dangerous conditions on public property.

[grace-land]

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=9455486

Family of Lynne Spalding files claim against city of San Francisco
Updated at 06:25 PM today

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) --  The family of Lynne Spalding, the woman who was found dead in a stairwell at San Francisco General Hospital, has filed legal action against the city. The legal claim blames the hospital and the sheriff's department for Spalding's death.

The 22 page claim is the first step toward a lawsuit. If the city rejects this claim, attorney Haig Harris says he will file suit.

"You've got to provide a safe environment in this kind of a hospital so the patients who come here to be treated are safe and secure," Harris said.
 

[Sister]

Thank you for these updates grace-land.

Although I usually shy away from "claims/lawsuits" -- I am in total agreement with this one.  This lady died due to extreme negligence in so many areas.
Prayers for her family.

[grace-land]

Thank you for these updates grace-land.

Although I usually shy away from "claims/lawsuits" -- I am in total agreement with this one.  This lady died due to extreme negligence in so many areas.
Prayers for her family.

You're welcome, Sister.  In this case, I'm in total agreement with the family, too.  They worked so hard to find her and get answers from the hospital officials; they deserve justice for Lynne. jmo

[grace-land]

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2014/03/ucsf_recommends_new_security_f.php

UCSF Recommends New Security Features for San Francisco General Hospital Following Patient's Death
Fri., Mar. 28 2014 at 4:00 PM

Still reeling from the death of Lynne Spalding, the 57 year-old mother of two who vanished from her hospital room in September and was found dead in a stairwell weeks later, San Francisco General Hospital now has a list of security features it can implement to preempt any more fiascos.

Today, Mayor Ed Lee presented the results of a comprehensive review by UCSF Medical Center, conducted over the six months following Spalding's death.

The inspectors recommend that SF General hire a security program manager, install new surveillance cameras around its acute care building, and improve its communication lines with the Sheriff's Department, among other things. They also touted various improvements the hospital has already made.
 

[grace-land]

http://sfappeal.com/2014/04/sf-general-staffers-decry-understaffing-crisis-culture-of-chaos/

SF General Staffers Decry Understaffing Crisis, “Culture Of Chaos”
April 9, 2014 6:14 pm 

Hospital workers rallied outside the emergency room entrance at San Francisco General Hospital this afternoon demanding the city increase staffing to keep patients safe.

Nurses and other hospital staff picketed outside the emergency entrance on Potrero Avenue and 23rd Street as part of a Service Employees International Union Local 1021 rally, chanting, “What do we want? Staffing!” and “City Hall, you’re no good, respect the workers like you should.”

About 13,000 city employees, including hospital staff, are represented by the union.

According to rally organizers, the city’s Department of Public Health, which oversees operations at SFGH, has not provided enough staff for registered nurses, nursing assistants and other hospital departments for the past year.
 
SFGH spokeswoman Rachael Kagan acknowledged that the hospital has staff vacancies, but said the hospital is always making staffing adjustments as necessary and looking to hire more.

She said contract talks are under way.

She said SFGH is the busiest emergency room in the region and serves as the area’s only trauma center.

Staffing levels are based on the population of patients, which changes constantly.

“We want to take care of the patients,” she said.

With the opening of a new hospital building projected for the end of 2015, Kagan said there will be more hiring.

Kagan maintained that staffing was not found to be an issue or have any connection to incidents such as Spalding’s death.

[grace-land]

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Family-suing-over-death-in-S-F-General-stairwell-5676541.php

Family suing over death in S.F. General stairwell
Published 6:01 am, Friday, August 8, 2014

The family of a woman who was found dead in a San Francisco General Hospital stairwell more than two weeks after she disappeared from her hospital bed filed a legal claim Tuesday against the city seeking unspecified monetary damages.

Filing such claims is a required precursor to a lawsuit against a government entity, and it appears the case will end up in court.

"There will be a lawsuit," said Haig Harris, the attorney for the family of Lynne Spalding, 57, who had been admitted to the hospital Sept. 19 for treatment of a bladder infection and for being disoriented.

The complaint against the city-run hospital and the San Francisco Sheriff's Department, which provides security there, seeks unspecified damages in excess of $25,000.

It outlines alleged failures in four main areas in Spalding's death: medical malpractice; violation of the state's elder abuse and adult dependency law; negligence by sheriff's deputies as the contracted security force; and maintenance of dangerous conditions on public property, Harris said.
 

[grace-land]

How true that no amount of money will bring Lynne back, but the negligence by so many called for a punishment so that new procedures will protect all future patients.  jmho  Rest in peace, Lynne.   

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/3-million-settlement-in-Lynne-Spalding-case-at-5954050.php

$3 million settlement over dead woman in S.F. General stairwell
Updated 6:42 pm, Friday, December 12, 2014

San Francisco and the University of California have tentatively agreed to pay a total of $3 million to settle a claim filed by the family of a woman whose body was found in a San Francisco General Hospital stairwell 17 days after she disappeared from her room last year.

“No amount of money will bring back the mother of these two children,” said Haig Harris, attorney for the family of Lynne Spalding. He said the sum being paid to her 20-year-old son, Liam, and daughter, Simone, 24, amounts to a recognition that there was a “systematic breakdown” in hospital protocols for protecting patients.

“We hope that this case will provide new systems to protect all patients from this tragic loss of life,” Harris said.

The city will pay $2.941 million and UC will pay $59,000, Harris said. UC was named in the family’s legal claim over Spalding’s death because its doctors and nurses were involved in her care and monitoring.