PORTLAND, Ore. — The family of a security guard who was shot and killed at a hospital in Portland, Oregon, sued the facility for $35 million on Tuesday, accusing it of negligence and failing to respond to the dangers that the gunman posed to hospital staff over multiple days.
In a wrongful death complaint filed Tuesday, the estate of Bobby Smallwood argued that Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center failed to enforce its policies against violence and weapons in the workplace by not barring the shooter from the facility, despite staff reporting threats and aggression toward them in the days before the shooting.
''The repeated failures of Legacy Good Samaritan to follow their own safety protocols directly led to the tragically preventable death of Bobby Smallwood,'' Tom D'Amore, the attorney representing the family, said in a statement. ''Despite documented threats and abusive behavior that required immediate removal under hospital policy, Legacy allowed a dangerous individual to remain on the premises for three days until those threats escalated to violence.''
In an email, Legacy Health said it was unable to comment on pending litigation.
The shooting at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in Portland was part of a wave of gun violence sweeping through U.S. hospitals and medical centers, which have struggled to adapt to the growing threats. Such attacks have helped make health care one of the nation's most violent fields. Health care workers racked up 73% of all nonfatal workplace violence injuries in 2018, the most recent year for which figures are available, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The gunman at the Portland hospital, PoniaX Calles, first visited the facility on July 19, 2023, as his partner was about to give birth. On July 20 and July 21, nursing staff and security guards filed multiple incident reports describing outbursts, violent behavior and threats, but they weren't accessible or provided to workers who were interacting with him, according to the complaint.
On July 22, nurse supervisors decided to remove Calles from his partner's room, and Smallwood accompanied him to the waiting room area outside the maternity ward. Other security guards searching the room found two loaded firearms in a duffel bag, and his partner told them he likely had a third gun on his person, the complaint said.
According to the complaint, over 40 minutes passed between the discovery of the duffel bag and Smallwood's death. Two minutes before he was shot, a security guard used hand gestures through glass doors to notify him that Calles was armed. Smallwood then told Calles he would pat him down, but Calles said he would leave instead. Smallwood began escorting him out of the hospital, and as other staff members approached them, Calles shot Smallwood in the neck.
