Man with disabilities dies unaided, lost in DC’s bureaucratic maze
October 22nd, 2008
From the Washington Post:
District of Columbia Mayor Adrian M. Fenty admitted at a news conference yesterday that the city had mishandled the case of a man with intellectual disabilities who was repeatedly denied eligibility for services and died without getting the help to which he was entitled. A city investigation is planned.
The man known as “Mr. Johnson” was described as having disabilities that began when he was hit by a bus when he was a toddler in the 1940s. Because his childhood care was provided by his mother, he did not have school paperwork to prove that his disabilities commenced before his 18th birthday and was denied services twice.
A volunteer tried to help him, but could not keep the man from living in squalor, hurting himself, skipping his medication and ultimately dying in a diabetic coma at the age of 65.
“Mr. Johnson’s” case was documented in a report by University Legal Services, a legal advocacy group. Advocates said they wrote the report to reveal a fatal bureaucratic focus on paperwork that kept people in need from getting the help they deserved.
D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) will hold a hearing to examine the case.
“We knew,” Wells said. “We knew he was in trouble, and the ball was dropped.”
(Washington Post photo of James Burrell, 78, who tried to get D.C. government care for the man he volunteered to visit.)
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