Investigation Finds No Fault With Hospital Staff That Treated Taunton Rampage Attacker
TAUNTON (CBS) -- The Morton Hospital staff that treated Arthur DaRosa 24 hours before he went on a deadly rampage in Taunton was found to have followed proper procedure and been "thorough and comprehensive," according to a report by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
An investigation found that a veteran licensed social worker with more than 30 years of experience spoke with DaRosa for nearly three hours and determined he did not need to be admitted to the hospital.
Read The Full Report By The Executive Office Of Health And Human Services
An emergency room doctor then signed off on the release and sent DaRosa home with recommendations for outpatient therapy.
"Based on the multiagency review, there is no evidence to suggest that inappropriate care was provided during the patient's encounter at Morton Hospital," the report says.
DaRosa, 28, was shot and killed by a deputy sheriff at a restaurant in the Silver City Galleria Tuesday after he killed two people and hurt five others.
DaRosa's family had blamed the hospital for releasing him, even though he went there seeking help--but the report found that "There was no basis to involuntarily hold [DaRosa] beyond the stabilization and evaluation."
The report did find more general problems with the way the hospital cared for psychiatric patients in the ER, including failing to properly supervise social workers and missing and inaccurate patient information on medical records.
"There were 20 deficiencies identified by DPH that Morton was required to address ... currently, all 20 deficiencies have been addressed," the report reads.
Two days after DaRosa's rampage, Morton Hospital announced they had banned a state-selected contractor for failing to evaluate patients in a timely way.
