Wife says Auburn, WA hospital let her husband with dementia wander off
Lawsuit claims hospital put senior citizen at risk
A recently filed lawsuit claims a man in his 70s with dementia was allowed to walk off from the MultiCare Auburn Medical Center, and nothing was done about it.
AUBURN, Wash. - A woman says a local hospital put her senior citizen husband, who has dementia, in extreme danger, and now she is demanding accountability.
The backstory:
A lawsuit filed on Tuesday claims that MultiCare Auburn Medical Center allowed Gary Lay, a man in his 70s and described as a vulnerable adult, to wander off their campus.
"It should never have happened. I mean we don’t know what happened to Gary in those 10, 12 hours that he was gone," said Marcene Lay, Gary’s wife. Thirteen miles in the dark, at night, crossing Highway 18. I mean, he’s so lucky just to be alive."
The incident happened in June 2024.
Lay tells FOX 13 Seattle that her husband was taken to Multicare Auburn Medical Center for an evaluation for his dementia.
She said medical officials guaranteed that her husband would be safe. However, Lay says her husband was able to walk out of the hospital property without anyone intervening.
The backstory:
According to the lawsuit, a neighbor called police when they saw Gary Lay on the side of the road.
FOX 13 Seattle obtained body camera footage of King County Sheriff’s deputies finding Gary wandering on the street.
Bodycam video shows King County deputies interviewing Gary Lay after finding him walking on the side of the road.
The video shows the deputies trying to get answers from him.
They ask Lay if he knows where he is. When he cannot answer, deputies are able to get information to help with the investigation because of Lay's hospital bracelet.
The video shows deputies using that information to track down Lay’s family and figure out that he walked out of a hospital.
What they're saying:
"First thing, how did he escape Auburn general hospital?," said Neil Stubbs, an attorney for Marcene Lay. "Medical records that we have, and they may not be complete, but in what we have it indicates that literally nothing was done to find him or acknowledge his absence until the police reached out to Auburn General."
Stubbs tells FOX 13 Seattle the hospital did not notify the family, the police, or request a Silver Alert.
"It’s devastating. It never should have happened. He was entrusted into the care of a hospital. The hospital is where we go to get fixed, not to get broken," said Marcene Lay.
The suit accuses the hospital of negligence, abuse and neglect of a vulnerable adult.
Lay said her husband needed treatment in the hospital for two weeks following the incident.
An official for Multicare Auburn Medical Center responded with this statement:
"MultiCare’s commitment to our mission – partnering for healing and a healthy future – is unwavering. We have no higher priority than the health and safety of every patient in our care. Since this is ongoing litigation we’re unable to comment at this time."
The full lawsuit can be found below:
The Source: Information in this story came from King County Sheriff’s Office bodycam video,
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