Five people being held at one of the largest psychiatric hospitals in the United States are suing the facility’s leadership and the California Department of State Hospitals (DSH) after hundreds of patients and staff have tested positive for COVID-19, with two patients dying as a result of the illness.
Covington & Burling attorneys filed the class action complaint Wednesday against Janine Wallace, the executive director of Patton State Hospital in Patton, and DSH Director Stephanie Clendenin in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. At least 112 patients and 147 staff and personnel at the 1,527-bed forensic psychiatric hospital have contracted the virus, according to the lawsuit surfaced by Legal Radar.
