The coroner has scheduled a jury inquest to determine the manner of death of a woman who died after she was found unresponsive on Vista Medical Center’s rooftop in Waukegan.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office is set to hold an inquest in the death of Chelsea Adolphus, 28, of Waukegan, on April 10 in Courtroom 206 at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan.
An inquest is a legal public hearing into the manner of death in which the coroner and six jurors sit and evidence is presented to determine the manner and circumstances surrounding a death.
Inquests assist in detecting foul play or hazardous conditions, according to the coroner’s office.
Family members can attend and learn the facts surrounding the death of a loved one.
Adolphus was admitted to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan around 4 a.m. on January 22 seeking medical treatment and help.
She left her patient room on the fifth floor around 2 a.m. on January 23 and was discovered almost seven hours later on the second-floor rooftop of the hospital at approximately 8:45 a.m., Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said.
“The door we believe she exited, if you exit that door, you are not able to return back inside of the hospital,” Banek said, adding that it is believed that the door she exited did not have alarms.
She was found unresponsive on the rooftop while only wearing her hospital gown. Temperatures were in the low 20s at the time.
Another patient or another patient’s family was the one who spotted Adolphus on the rooftop and notified staff.
Adolphus was brought from the rooftop to the emergency room where staff provided treatment, including warming her body temperature, which was 50 degrees Fahrenheit, Banek said.
The woman was pronounced dead around 11 p.m. on January 23 after staff attempted to resuscitate and warm Adolphus for 14 hours.
Banek said the hospital notified the Lake County Coroner’s Office minutes after Adolphus was pronounced dead but the hospital had not contacted the Waukegan Police Department yet.
The coroner’s office notified the police department, which met the coroner’s office at the hospital to start an investigation.
An autopsy was performed on Adolphus at the coroner’s office in January and the preliminary findings show she died from hypothermia due to cold exposure.
Civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, said a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against the owners of Vista Medical Center East.
“Chelsea Adolphus died alone, freezing on the roof of a hospital where she went for help – a place that should have protected her. Instead, she was left to walk through an unsecured door that locked behind her, sealing her fate,” Crump said.
“This lawsuit is about holding Vista Medical Center accountable for the horrifying negligence that led to Chelsea’s death and ensuring that no other family has to suffer such a preventable tragedy,” he added.
The woman’s brother, Paul Adolphus, said that the hospital staff lied to him when he arrived at the hospital and told him that his sister had left the hospital and was found in the parking lot of a retail store blocks away.
Crump said he would get accountability and justice for what happened to Adolphus.
Vista Health System CEO Kevin Spiegel said that the hospital was “devastated” about Adolphus’ death, which he called a “tragedy.”
He disputed reports that recent furloughs at the hospital earlier in January impacted the safety of patients.
Banek said among the dozens of workers furloughed earlier in the month were sitters, who are staff members who sit and watch patients to ensure they are safe when they are the most vulnerable.
“I had warned during a February 2024 press conference that lives were at stake. In high-stakes industries, like healthcare, we rely on evidence-based practices, transparency, and effective oversight as protective measures to make certain people do not die. A death is not the threshold by which we should be measuring the necessity for a call to action,” Banek said.
“American Healthcare Systems must be held accountable to provide safe, quality healthcare to Waukegan and its surrounding communities. It has repeatedly fallen short by failing to meet its financial obligations to vendors, clinical providers, the City of Waukegan for its water bill, in addition, to $1M owed in back taxes,” she said.