REDWOOD FALLS - A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the employment agency that provided the temporary worker charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of a 100-year-old resident of the Sunwood Good Samaritan Center in Redwood Falls.
The civil lawsuit filed July 3 in District Court in Hennepin County on behalf of the family of Evelyn Schweim seeks damages from All Temporaries Midwest Inc., of Minneapolis, and from Francisco Javier Ramirez. It alleges negligence on the part of Ramirez, 29, of Olivia, and negligence in his supervision on the part of All Temporaries Midwest.
Ramirez is charged with felony counts of second-degree manslaughter and criminal neglect, and gross misdemeanor charges of mistreatment of a resident and criminal neglect in the September 17, 2017 death of Schweim.
The criminal complaint alleges that Ramirez was caring for Schweim on Sept. 10, 2017, when she suffered fatal injuries after slipping out of a swing chair being used to transfer her from a bath.
The civil lawsuit repeats allegations made in the criminal case against Ramirez. It accuses him of not following protocol when caring for Schweim. It alleges that he disregarded requirements that he be assisted by another staff member when transferring her, and disregarded safe operation instructions for the chair.
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According to the allegations, Schweim slipped from the chair when Ramirez removed the seatbelt when it was raised to about its highest level.
She suffered fractures to the lower bones in her left leg, and an open fracture to the left ankle. She was airlifted from the Redwood Falls Hospital to a level one trauma hospital in the Twin Cities, according to the lawsuit.
Physicians determined that she was not a good candidate for surgical interventions and procedures necessary to treat the extensive orthopedic injuries, the lawsuit states. She was placed on comfort care and received hospice service.
