BUCKLEY, Wash. — Washington state is settling a lawsuit with the family of a man who disappeared from a state-operated habilitation facility last year and hasn't been found.
Joel Wellman hasn’t been seen since Jan. 31, 2020, and a complaint from his family says the Rainier School in Buckley, Wash., is responsible.
The school is operated by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and is a habilitation center for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Wellman, who suffered from Autism, wandered away from the school and into the woods nearby, and has since been presumed dead.
The family lodged a complaint against the Rainier School, stating Joel was neglected and not given adequate care.
Representatives of the Wellman family said the school knew Wellman had a tendency to wander off as early as nine months before he disappeared.
“There had been four specific times when he had walked away,” said Darrell Cochran, who represents the Wellman family. “Yet Rainier School never adjusted his supervision, they never dealt with the fact that [Joel] had concerns about how he had been treated, and certainly didn’t make sure that they had staff that was paying attention to where he was.”
Advocate Kimberly Mosolf of Disability Rights Washington (DRW) said this isn’t the first time neglect at Rainier School has had fatal consequences.
“In 2017, a resident named JoHanna Pratt died because medical staff didn’t take seriously her treatment of a pulmonary embolism,” she recalled.
Mosolf also pointed to a track record of poor care that has endangered the lives of the Rainier School's residents.
“Other residents have faced risks of death from preventable choking and other injuries over the last several years. DRW has been raising concerns about the safety and risk of Rainier Schools for years now and has released several public reports, unfortunately, highlighting the ongoing failures of Rainier,” Mosolf said.
Now, Mosolf said the Rainier School and others like it need to close their doors before anyone else is hurt, or worse.
“Disability Rights Washington believes these institutions should’ve been closed long ago,” Mosolf said. “We have serious concerns that we will continue to see death and harm come to the residents there.”
KING 5 contacted the Rainier School and DSHS for a comment and was told the agency cannot comment on pending litigation or confirm a potential settlement until it’s been approved by the court.