Brockton family is suing Army over death of Sgt. Elder Fernandes
The family of a Brockton soldier who was found dead about 30 miles from Fort Hood in Texas in 2020 has filed a $25 million malpractice claim against the U.S. Army.
Sgt. Elder Neves Fernandes, 23, of Brockton, was reported missing on Aug. 19, 2020. His body was found less than a week later, and his death was determined to be a suicide.
In the lawsuit, Fernandes' family alleges that Darnall Army Medical Center provided "negligent care" after the soldier sought help.
"The harassment he had been subjected to by his fellow soldiers after he had reported a sexual harassment incident had become intolerable," wrote the family's lawyers, Leonard Kesten and Michael Stefanilo, of Boston-based Brody, Hardoon, Perkins and Kesten LLP.
Army Criminal Investigations Division special agent Damon Phelps confirmed that Fernandes reported that someone had “reached out and touched his buttocks.” Phelps said an investigation was completed, no witnesses were found and the allegation was determined to be unsubstantiated. Officials declined to identify the accused, who they said took a polygraph test.
Officials said in a previous statement that Fernandes was transferred to a different unit within the brigade following the report and they are unaware of reports of bullying or hazing.
According to the family, Fernandes sought help from the medical center.
"Sergeant Fernandes was sexually assaulted shortly after his arrival at Fort Hood, forever changing his outlook on the military, and his mental health. After only six months of being stationed at Fort Hood, on August 11, 2020, Fernandes became actively suicidal and was taken to Darnall by his wife’s brother and best friend, as part of a concerted effort by his closest friends and family to ensure his safety and to protect him from any self-harm. He was immediately admitted as an inpatient psychiatric patient at Darnall," the family's claim states.
'A man of hope':Sgt. Elder Fernandes laid to rest in Brockton
He was discharged less than a week later.
"He subjectively reported remission of suicidal thoughts at discharge, which Darnall accepted without adequate precautions having been put into place to account for Fernandes’ past history of relapse," the claim states. "Darnall released Fernandes into the care of the very unit that was causing his suicidality, upon a simple blanket assurance by unit command that he would be provided with 'access' to care and observed."
The family said Fernandes was given a ride to his car, which would not start, and then to a friend's home, where they say he was left alone on a stoop without access to the apartment.
"No safety checks at his residence were arranged by Darnall. Fernandes did not appear for his therapy appointment the following day and was last seen walking towards the Interstate on the evening of August 18th. On that same evening, he was reported AWOL to Darnell, but attempts to relay this information to the appropriate provider and personnel were interrupted by allegedly nonworking phone lines.
"Darnell made no effort to locate him and did not inform the local police or his unit that he was at high risk for suicide and that a search must be initiated immediately. Instead, nothing was done to look for Sergeant Fernandes until his mother arrived and literally begged the Army and local police to look for him. Sadly, by the time he was found, it was too late," the family's attorneys wrote.
Fernandes was found dead in Temple, Texas, on Aug. 25. His body was returned home to Brockton on Sept. 1, 2020.
The lawyers wrote that the claim for $25 million is "to compensate them for the loss of Sergeant Fernandes’ life, his pain and suffering prior to death, their own pain and suffering and emotional distress resulting from his death, his lost earnings and earning potential, and his and their loss of enjoyment of life."
Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Hewitt, a U.S. Army spokesperson, said, "Every single suicide is one tragedy too many. We remain saddened by the loss of Sgt. Elder Fernandes and for his family. The statute passed by Congress allows the filing of an administrative claim by the authorized representative of the deceased. The claim is being investigated by the U.S. Army Claims Service, but as a matter of policy, the Army does not disclose the particulars of ongoing claims investigations."