The Washington Lawyers’ Committee, ACLU of DC, and Arnold & Porter LLP, have filed a federal class action lawsuit against Barbara Bazron, Director of the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health; Mark Chastang, CEO of St. Elizabeths Hospital; and the District of Columbia for the horrifying conditions at the hospital during a weeks-long water outage. Brought on behalf of four patients there, the case seeks immediate relief for unconstitutional conditions arising from the water shut-off and for a permanent injunction that the District have a plan for hospital operations in the event of future water problems.

“I can’t overstate how egregious the conditions are at the hospital,” says Margaret Hart, Counsel at the Committee. “A hospital without water cannot really function as a hospital. I visited the facility and had the opportunity to speak with several of the patients. They are living in appalling unsanitary conditions and are anxious about the situation. They said they are just sitting around, stuck in their units all day without access to treatment or group therapy. These patients have been deprived of the very services Saint Elizabeths is supposed to provide, intensive mental health treatment, and the District’s response has put the patients’ mental and physical health at risk. The lack of attention from the District’s leaders is shameful.”

Last night, DBH reported the water tested clear and should be fully restored this evening. But this is not the first time the District has made assertions about fixing the problem that have turned out to be overly optimistic. We remain very concerned about patients’ condition and care after the crisis, and what precautions DBH is taking to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

Read the full press release and complaint.