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Lawsuit filed over child's death
May 14, 2009
 The
foster family of 7-year old Angellika Arndt, who suffocated while in
a control hold at the Rice Lake Day Treatment Center in 2006, has
filed a lawsuit against the center's parent company.
The estate of Angellika Arndt with
special administrator Donna Pavlik, of Ladysmith, filed the suit
against Northwest Counseling and Guidance Clinic of Frederic Monday.
Pavlik was Arndt's foster mother.
Also named as defendants are former
center staff member Bradley A. Ridout, 31, of Weyerhaeuser, who was
administering the hold at the time of Angellika's death, and the
clinic's insurance provider Riverport Insurance Co. of Stevens
Point. Two more corporations, other staff members and two more
insurance companies, as of yet unnamed, are also listed as
defendants.
Angellika was a client of the
center, which provided intensive intervention and preventative
mental health services for youths.
Ridout with other staff members had
placed Angellika in a control hold as a disciplinary measure at the
clinic on May 25, 2006. She was forced to lie face down on the floor
and was restrained by at least three staff members, including Ridout
lying across the 67-pound girl's back and shoulders. She suffocated
from the pressure and could not be revived.
The clinic pled no contest to a
subsequent charge of homicide under the patient abuse statute. It
was fined $100,000. As part of the plea agreement, the Rice Lake
center closed its doors.
Ridout pled no contest to
misdemeanor negligent patient abuse. He was placed on 1 year of
probation with 60 days in jail.
In March, the state departments of
Health Services and Families and Children issued a joint notice
prohibiting the control hold in all state licensed or certified
facilities, including during emergency physical intervention with
clients.
The lawsuit alleges negligence,
breach of contract and other violations.
To ensure Angellika's dignity
Angellika was born in Milwaukee.
She was subjected to severe physical and sexual abuse while living
with her biological parents, stated the complaint.
She was diagnosed with a variety of
psychological disorders and developmental problems, including a
short attention span.
Her parents terminated their
parental rights in 2004. She was placed with foster parents Donna
and Daniel Pavlik in January 2005 and immediately became a part of
their family, the complaint stated.
Angellika was placed in the Rice
Lake Day Treatment Center for academic assistance on April 24, 2006.
From that day until May 25, 2006,
Angellika was placed in the control hold at least a dozen times
lasting from a minimum of 17 minutes up to a maximum of 98 minutes.
She was placed in the control holds
for such behavior as putting her hands down the front of her pants,
putting her arms and head inside her shirt, not sitting properly,
talking to others and gargling her drink.
The Pavliks were not informed of
the nature of each restraint hold and the length of time each hold
was imposed. During the last control hold, Angellika lost
consciousness, stopped breathing, sustained a tear to the cornea
andhad blunt trauma to the head. She went into cardiac arrest and
sustained internal bleeding and brain death, stated the complaint.
The Pavliks assert that if they had
been informed of the restraints, they would have immediately removed
Angellika from the center.
The clinic violated its policies
and procedures by placing Angellika in the holds even though she
didn't pose a danger to herself or others, the complaint stated.
Northwest's physical control hold
policy stated that the hold was not to be used as a disciplinary
practice but to prevent a client from harming themselves or others.
Northwest was subsequently cited
with multiple violations of state regulations at the center.
The complaint states that the
clinic was negligent, breached its contract and breached Angellika's
statutory rights as a patient in part by failing to provide adequate
training to its employees, failing to create adequate policies to
ensure Angellika's dignity and safety with the least restrictive
measures and to adequately supervise its employees.
The complaint states that there was
no designated physician who authorized or reviewed the isolation and
restraint holds to which Angellika was subjected.
The complaint asks for a jury to
determine the amount of damages to be paid.
A similar lawsuit has been filed in
Eau Claire County Circuit Court by Angellika's maternal grandfather,
Michael Martinez of Cudahy. The Court of Appeals is reviewing
whether Martinez is an heir.
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