A woman has filed a lawsuit against the Unity Center for Behavioral Health, alleging that negligent practices at the psychiatric facility allowed a "violent" unmonitored patient to smash her in the head with a basketball-sized rock.
Sonya Gonzales states she was attacked and left bleeding on the ground, suffering a concussion and severe emotional damage, during the August 2022 incident.
According to the lawsuit, Gonzales was standing outside of Unity when the suspect, Dwayne Simpson, came up behind her and struck her in the head with a 35-pound rock unprovoked. Gonzales fell and hit her head a second time on the wall behind her.
Gonzales alleges she lay there bleeding until she came to and was able to enter the building, and that no security personnel came to her aid in that time.
“Not only did no one intervene when Dwayne Simpson was around the area in scrubs, wielding a 35-pound rock, but even after the attack, when our client had been struck and was lying bleeding on the sidewalk, that she essentially had to help herself, she had to get to safety, and take extra measures to get security personnel involved and aware of what was going on," said the attorney representing Gonzalez, Peter Janci. "And that’s a red flag to us. It’s concerning to us that this could all happen without it being noticed by, or on the radar of the security personnel from Unity."
Dwayne Simpson is reported to have been experiencing severe and violent mental health crises for at least a month leading up to the attack. Simpson previously threatened to kill a woman, bash a woman’s skull in, or otherwise violently assault a woman, according to police reports. Simpson had also been taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital and Health Center during a violent episode, and was quickly discharged.
The lawsuit alleges that Simpson was admitted to Unity on the day of the attack, but discharged the same day.
“The evidence indicates that this same perpetrator was seen at Legacy facilities twice in the 16 days before the attack on Ms. Gonzales – both times for threatening the same kind of attack he ultimately carried out on her. We intend to prove that Unity knew that Simpson was a ticking time bomb and ignored it, dumping the danger right back out in the community. We believe that evidence will show that the attack on Ms. Gonzales was entirely preventable,” Janci said.
“We intend to prove that Unity failed to ensure that its premises were safe,” Janci continued in a press release. “We allege that Unity did not have adequate security protocols in place, and that Unity also failed to properly monitor and screen its patients. Why was Dwayne Simpson outside of Unity wielding a 35-pound rock? Why didn’t Unity know about his violent impulses and threats? And if they did, why didn’t they do anything about it? These are the questions my client wants to have answered in this case.”
According to the lawsuit, Gonzales has been unable to work since the attack and continues to experience symptoms.
Unity Center for Behavioral Health is Portland’s only psychiatric emergency facility. According to Unity, patients are seen by a triage nurse and are either admitted or discharged after being reviewed.
Unity has previously come under fire for alleged violence involving patients and staff members.
A report from the Oregon Health Authority looked into patient safety and “uncovered several issues that jeopardized patient safety," such as allegations of a guard putting a patient in a chokehold.
Additionally, the Center was issued a citation by OHSA for not properly reporting and handling injuries employees got from patients.
KATU reached out to Legacy Health to ask for their response to the allegations but a representative told KATU "we are unable to comment on pending litigation."