Group home facing wrongful death lawsuit over young woman's overdose

A lawsuit has been filed against a Brooklyn Park group home and Hennepin County for failing to prevent resident in the home from overdosing twice in a week, resulting in her death.

Storms Dworak LLC filed the lawsuit on Tuesday on behalf of Juanita Tyson, whose daughter Dea-Zeahunna Bernadine Spencer, 21, lived in a Brooklyn Park assisted living facility run by Empathy Home Care, Inc.

The lawsuit alleges Spencer was a vulnerable person who suffered from mental and drug abuse and that Empathy’s staff and chief executive officer did not take action or implement acceptable safety checks on Spencer following her first overdose on fentanyl.

Spencer was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder back in 2020 and reportedly also suffered from manic episodes. She entered Empathy Home Care back on July 26, 2021.

She first overdosed on November 15, 2021, when she locked herself in a bathroom and would not answer the door. She was found with an oxycodone pill in her hand and drug paraphernalia in her purse.

After being administered Narcan and being taken to North Memorial Hospital, she confessed to police she had been smoking fentanyl and took a pill she had from a friend.

She returned to Empathy the same day, and despite a care plan being organized, it was allegedly never properly implemented at the facility.

On November 19, 2021, Spencer left the facility to talk with an unknown person in a van before returning to her room. The complaint alleges that no staff member asked what she talked about or why she left.

Staff members found her dead in her bed on November 20 at 7 a.m. after they were unable to get her to answer her door. Her cause of death was ruled a fentanyl overdose.

The complaint also names Hennepin County, alleging that it failed to monitor Spencer’s compliance with her support plan and failed to report her first overdose to the court.

Despite previous overdose reports dating back to May, the lawsuit says her case manager from Hennepin County never reported them to staff.

“This suit is about holding both private providers and county social workers accountable when vulnerable adults are ignored and suffer as a result. This young woman should be alive today,” said Storms Dworak partner Ryan Vettleson.

Partner Jeff Storms added: “The repeated failures suggest a staggering pattern of indifference that must end before more lives are lost.”

The complaint asks for around $100,000 to be paid to her mother, Juanita Tyson, with $50,000 being asked for each count.

Bring Me the News has reached out to Empathy Home Care for comment but there has not been a response from the group home at this time.