The family of 28-year-old Chelsea Adolphus hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump to represent them in a wrongful death lawsuit against Waukegan's Vista Medical Center East.
Adolphus was found dead on the hospital roof last week. She was a patient there and died of hypothermia as a result of cold exposure, according to the Lake County Coroner's Office.
Adolphus was admitted to the hospital at around 4 a.m. last Wednesday for unspecified medical issues. She was found unresponsive on the roof of the hospital at around 8:45 a.m. on Thursday and was only wearing a hospital gown at the time.
Adolphus was taken to the hospital's emergency department, where her body temperature was determined to be around 55 degrees, the coroner stated.
"This is a God-awful heartbreaking tragedy," Crump said Wednesday. "We will get accountability for what happened and get justice for Chelsea Adolphus."
Adolphus' family filed a six-count wrongful death lawsuit on the basis of what Crump said is premise liability, negligence and medical malpractice.
Family members also claim the hospital staff initially told them her body was found down the street outside a store, not on the roof.
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"They believe the cover-up is worse than the crime," Crump said.
Meanwhile in Waukegan, Vista Medical Center officials held their first news conference.
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"We are devastated by the recent tragedy that occurred this past week, and we extend our sympathy to the patient's family and friends," said Vista Health System CEO Kevin Spiegel.
Spiegel also took issue with Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek's press conference earlier this week, where she suggested staffing and recent furloughs at the hospital could have played a role in Adolphus' death.
"These claims are entirely unfounded and absolutely false," Spiegel said, calling her remarks biased against the hospital. "We have filed a request to the court for an emergency injunction to have her removed from this investigation and replaced with an impartial party."
The hospital said they furloughed 78 employees recently, but they don't believe that contributed -- or would have changed -- the tragic outcome.
NBC Chicago reached out to the coroner's office for comment but have not heard back at the time of writing this article.
The investigation internally and externally into how Adolphus accessed the roof is ongoing.
