Mother Sues City, Md. Hospital Over Teen's Death

The mother of a teenager who died after a fight at the District's Oak Hill juvenile detention center has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that D.C. government officials did not properly staff or oversee the facility and are responsible for his death.

Karl Grimes, 18, fought with two youths the day before Thanksgiving 2005 and died four days later at Prince George's Hospital Center. Grimes's mother, Patricia, filed suit Monday in U.S. District Court, seeking $15 million from the D.C. government. And she is seeking $5 million from the hospital for what the suit alleges was negligent care.

Representatives of the D.C. government and the hospital could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Grimes's attorney, Gregory L. Lattimer, said the teenager would be alive today if District officials had done their jobs properly. "His mother is totally convinced, as are we, that this did not have to happen," Lattimer said.

The lawsuit says the Southeast Washington youth was committed to Oak Hill, in Laurel, on Aug. 29, 2005, for a probation violation. On Nov. 23, Grimes "was accosted and beaten by several Oak Hill residents," the suit says.

The suit alleges that D.C. officials were aware that staffing and supervision at the facility were not sufficient to ensure the safety of its residents. The suit also says there was a "significant delay" in giving Grimes medical care.

In an interview shortly after Grimes's death, D.C. officials told The Washington Post that Grimes hit his head on a wall or windowsill during an altercation in a day room in a residential unit. Vincent Schiraldi, director of the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, said at the time that an inquiry had been initiated into reports that two or three corrections officers left the scene of the fight and that only one remained to break it up. Results of that inquiry could not be determined yesterday.