Nov 26, 2015 2 min read

The father of a woman who choked to death two years ago in a group facility filed suit in Washington County Court this week, alleging Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services Inc. could have prevented her death if she was properly supervised.

Tod Mrock of Canonsburg took the case to court on behalf of the estate of Sandra Mrock.

According to the complaint, Sandra Mrock, who suffered from schizophrenia, had a seizure disorder as a result of one of the most serious vehicular accidents to occur in Washington County.

She was a passenger April 24, 2008, when a van carrying group home residents collided with a tractor-trailer at the intersection of Route 136 and Brownlee Road in Somerset Township. Five people died, and Sandra Mrock was among the seven who were injured.

Mrock had been living in a personal care home in Monongahela, where she had 24-hour supervision.

In the summer of 2012, Mrock was transferred to a SPHS facility at 21Gallaton Drive, Donora.

On Nov. 25, 2013, Mrock, 56, who was in a common area of the facility, apparently choked on food. The complaint alleges she lay for 20 minutes undiscovered, and no SPHS employee “was even in the building when Sandra died.

“Had she been discovered sooner, her life would have been saved.”

According to her obituary, Mrock died at Monongahela Valley Hospital.

In addition to the lack of supervision, Tod Mrock claims SPHS failed to have in place policies and procedures or video surveillance, which would have assisted the monitoring of residents. He also claimed SPHS did not properly train its employees.

Tod Mrock also alleges SPHS was on notice from the Area Agency on Aging that his daughter should have been housed in a personal care home, which would have provided a higher level of monitoring and supervision.

The estate is seeking by way of a jury trial punitive damages and compensation for Sandra Mrock’s lost earning capacity and loss of retirement and Social Security income, funeral expenses and other relief.