Family Says Oregon State Hospital Tortured Son Before His Death, Files Federal Wrongful Death Lawsuit

July 14, 2026

The family of a 25-year-old man who died while confined at Oregon State Hospital has filed a sweeping federal wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that years of neglect, excessive restraint, prolonged isolation, and systemic failures turned a psychiatric hospital into a place of suffering rather than treatment. The lawsuit contends that Kenneth Hass was denied appropriate psychiatric care during his three-year stay and instead endured conditions his attorneys describe as cruel, degrading, and unconstitutional. The case seeks not only financial damages but also sweeping reforms designed to prevent other vulnerable patients from experiencing similar treatment.

According to the complaint, Hass was admitted to Oregon State Hospital in March 2022 after a court determined he was not competent to assist in his criminal defense because of mental illness. His family alleges that despite years under the hospital's care, clinicians never established an adequate diagnosis or individualized treatment plan. Instead, they claim he was subjected to repeated medication changes, extended periods of seclusion, and hundreds of hours in four-point restraints. The lawsuit alleges Hass spent more than one-third of his hospitalization in locked seclusion, including approximately 250 consecutive days before his death. Attorneys further claim he was frequently left in filthy conditions surrounded by urine, feces, and trash while staff failed to intervene despite documenting the circumstances.

The lawsuit also alleges that hospital staff ignored a dangerous pattern of compulsive water drinking that had been documented for years. According to the complaint, on March 18, 2025, Hass consumed an extraordinary amount of toilet water before collapsing and suffering a medical emergency. He later died from water intoxication. The family contends that the tragedy was not an unpredictable event but the foreseeable result of repeated failures to properly assess, monitor, and treat a vulnerable psychiatric patient. They further allege that delays in responding to his medical distress contributed to his death.

Attorneys representing Hass's estate argue that the case extends well beyond medical malpractice. They contend the treatment he received violated his constitutional rights to safety, dignity, and adequate medical care. The complaint names the State of Oregon, the Oregon Health Authority, Oregon State Hospital, and numerous hospital administrators, physicians, and staff members as defendants. Among the requested remedies are independent federal oversight, outside expert monitoring, and institutional reforms aimed at changing the hospital's practices regarding restraints, seclusion, patient monitoring, and emergency response.

The allegations arrive amid heightened scrutiny of Oregon State Hospital. Following Hass's death, federal inspectors with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services identified conditions they classified as "Immediate Jeopardy," the agency's most serious finding, concluding that systemic deficiencies placed patients at risk. Although regulators later lifted the Immediate Jeopardy designation after corrective actions were implemented, they determined the hospital remained out of compliance with several federal standards. State officials have since ordered corrective measures addressing patient safety, leadership accountability, and emergency response procedures.

While the allegations remain to be proven in court and Oregon officials have not yet responded in detail to the complaint, the case illustrates why independent investigations and meaningful reforms are essential whenever serious harm or death occurs inside institutions responsible for caring for society's most vulnerable patients.

Source: "Family says patient who died was tortured at Oregon State Hospital. Now they're suing," The Oregonian (with additional reporting by Oregon Public Broadcasting and KPTV), July 13, 2026.