The family of a woman fatally injured by a train has been awarded a substantial jury verdict in a wrongful death suit. The family alleged that Patricia Desio, 36, died after being allowed to leave a hospital's locked psychiatric unit unsupervised.

Desio suffered from depression and cognitive impairments. She sought treatment at a hospital, where she was placed in a locked psychiatric unit under supervision for self-injurious behavior.

Desio asked a clerk whether she could leave the unit to buy a soda from a vending machine several hallways away. The clerk told her to ask a nurse for permission to go. The nurse allowed her out and did not institute a search until several hours after Desio failed to return. The nurse then called hospital security but did not tell them he had released her. Shortly after, Desio was found dead on nearby railroad tracks, having apparently thrown herself on the tracks before an oncoming train.

Desio's mother, on behalf of her estate, sued the hospital, alleging the nurse had violated hospital policy requiring authorization from an attending psychiatrist before a patient is allowed to leave. Moreover, plaintiff claimed, the nurse should have accompanied Desio to the soda machine and, having failed to do so, he should have called security when she did not return after a few minutes.

Desio's parents acknowledged that no amount of money could compensate them for their tragic loss. They refused to settle the case before trial, stating they did not want to place a value on their late daughter's life.

At trial, Desio's father read the jury a letter from his daughter, in which she stated that she loved him "like a daughter should love a father." The jury awarded Desio's parents and siblings substantial damages.

According to their attorney, the verdict represents an acknowledgement by the jury that people with emotional or other disabilities are still an intrinsic part of family life. "They are valuable people and not discards because of their impairments. An impairment doesn't mean importance is impaired," said the attorney.

This case demonstrates the ability of the civil justice system to right an egregious wrong and perhaps prevent similar tragedies in the future.