Inset: Kenneth Hass. Background: Oregon State Hospital, where Kenneth Hass was a patient (KGW/YouTube).
An Oregon psychiatric patient died from “water intoxication” after guzzling more than five gallons of toilet water while state hospital workers stood by and “no one stopped him,” a lawsuit says.
Staff at Oregon State Hospital (OSH) “failed to monitor” patient Kenneth Hass and “failed to document Mr. Hass” behavior” as he drank an estimated 89 cups of toilet water, or about 5.1 gallons, in a span of three hours while being kept in a “seclusion room” at the facility in March 2025, according to a legal complaint filed by Hass’ family.
Hass, who was known to submerge his head completely in his toilet and slip on water he splashed out of it, allegedly fell multiple times and vomited before dying in front of staff members, the complaint says. “You don’t have to chart it,” one worker said, according to the complaint.
One of his alleged falls involved Hass crawling up on a toilet seat and attempting to stand on it. “His foot slipped inside the bowl,” the complaint says. “Mr. Hass fell backward off the toilet, struck his head on the door, and fell to the floor. Mr. Hass vomited as his head struck the door and floor.”
After Hass hit the ground, his face turned red and he appeared to be choking on something, while spitting up “white liquid foam,” the complaint says.
“His limbs were jerking and twitching,” the document alleges. A “Code Blue” was called, which means lifesaving measures are needed, but workers “did not immediately respond,” according to Hass’ family.
A team was assembled to secure Hass as he was “known to be especially aggressive,” but the staffers refused to enter his seclusion room to render aid. About three minutes passed before Hass’ movements began to slow, the complaint says.
“His breaths became longer, slower, and deeper,” according to the complaint. “Mr. Hass went completely. More than four minutes after Mr. Hass’s fall, OSH staff entered his room and checked his pulse. Five minutes and forty seconds after Mr. Hass’s fall, OSH staff finally begin CPR compressions.”
First responders arrived about 15 minutes after Hass’ fall and took over lifesaving measures, according to the complaint. He was pronounced dead after 47 minutes, the document says.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services conducted an audit and found that “a multitude of staff responded to” the seclusion room and “gathered in the hallway” but did not approach Hass or render emergency aid for more than five minutes.
“No one brought the crash cart until OSH staff entered the seclusion room and it lacked oxygen,” the complaint alleges. “No one started CPR for over five minutes. No one used the AED that arrived with the crash cart.”
The audit went on to find “significant” life-threatening delays in the emergency response, a “lack of understanding in emergency responses” by staff, and a “disorganized response causing further delay and confusion,” according to the complaint.
Before his death, Hass’ family says, he had been kept “in isolation” for 250 consecutive days. “During this time, he was denied clean clothes and a shower and left in locked rooms smeared with feces and urine,” the complaint says. “During this time, he was a fall risk and would often drink dangerous amounts of water.”
Hass arrived at OSH after being charged with two counts of assaulting a public safety officer and second-degree criminal trespassing. Court-ordered medical evaluations found that he showed signs of “delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thoughts.” He went to the state hospital for a mental health evaluation before being placed in “seclusion” that his family says was “almost identical” to the use of “solitary confinement” in prisons.
According to his family, OSH staff was aware of multiple instances when Hass experienced symptoms of water intoxication, including vomiting. But they ultimately “failed to arrive at a treatment plan” and “instead relied on the extensive use of isolation and four-point restraints,” the complaint says.
“Mr. Hass’ death was caused by extreme neglect and abuse throughout his stay at OSH,” the complaint says. “Practitioners decided early that Mr. Hass was untreatable. He was kept heavily medicated and in isolation where even family members were not allowed to visit. During the last hours of his life, he was repeatedly allowed to engage in dangerous, life threatening behavior. No one stopped him or helped him, despite repeated requests by staff.”
Hass’ family is suing OSH and Oregon Health Authority for negligence, physical abuse of a vulnerable person, wrongful death and violations of Hass’ constitutional rights.
“Defendants knew Mr. Hass was a high fall risk, suffered from a serious medical condition and had been showing increased symptoms indicative of a complete failure in their treatment of his mental health condition,” the complaint concludes. “Defendants simply locked Mr. Hass in isolation without thought to consequence or seeking an alternative treatment plan. This violated the constitutional mandates imposed on them and is in complete violation of the law and any acceptable medical standard of care.”
OSH and OHA did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment. OHA told local NBC affiliate KGW that it does not comment on active litigation.
