Washington state will pay $13.35 million to settle a lawsuit alleging a developmentally disabled man suffered decades of abuse and neglect, living in a moldy shack on the rat-infested property of a state-approved caregiver while the Department of Social and Health Services failed to intervene.
The settlement, approved Friday by a Whatcom County Superior Court judge, partially resolves a lawsuit filed last year on behalf of James Rupke, 66, who was described by his attorney as "a forgotten man for decades."
The taxpayer-funded payout is believed to be the largest settlement on behalf of a developmentally disabled person in state history, said David Moody, a Seattle attorney who represented Rupke.
The massive payment resolves DSHS' liability in the case, but the lawsuit remains ongoing against Northwest Regional Council, an association of county governments that provides services for seniors and people with disabilities and complex medical conditions.
"Both DSHS and NWRC were responsible for ensuring the health and safety of Mr. Rupke. Each defendant failed miserably. This is a shocking story of government waste and apathy," Moody said in an emailed statement Friday.
According to the lawsuit filed in October, Rupke was "stashed away in a rat-infested shack" in the state-approved caregiver's backyard "while DSHS and NWRC ignored a constellation of warning signs that James was being abandoned, neglected, exploited and abused." The shack was located in Deming, Whatcom County, a small community about 13 miles northeast of Bellingham.
Both agencies contracted with and paid the caregiver for more than 30 years, shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars, even though DSHS knew the man lacked training and "was unfit by any measure" to adequately care for Rupke, who has suffered from intellectual and cognitive disabilities his entire life, the lawsuit stated.
The caregiver did not provide Rupke with the help he needed to bathe or ensure he got proper medical care, according to the lawsuit. Instead, Rupke was left "to fend for himself."
The uninsulated shack was filthy and surrounded by garbage, and had a badly installed leaky toilet, causing water to seep into the floors, leaving them moist and rotted, the lawsuit said.
Despite the conditions, the lawsuit said there was no description of Rupke's living conditions in any of DSHS' or NWRC's written assessments, and "not a single case manager ever entered James' shack. Ever."
After living in the squalid shack for decades, Rupke was finally allowed to move into the caregiver's house, where he slept in a room with the man's flea-ridden dogs, according to the lawsuit.
"Due to this lack of care, James was filthy—covered in dirt and smelled of eye-watering body odor, feces, and stale urine," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit also alleged the caregiver physically and sexually abused Rupke, "both personally and by hiring prostitutes to perform sex acts on [Rupke]" while the caregiver watched.
Rupke was finally removed from the caregiver's home in March 2022, according to the lawsuit. New guardians were recently appointed for Rupke, and the settlement funds will be placed in a trust for his benefit, Moody said.
The Seattle Times is not naming the caregiver, who was not a defendant in the lawsuit and has not been charged with a crime. An Adult Protective Services investigation of the caregiver ended with "inconclusive findings," according to the lawsuit, which faulted that probe as inadequate.
DSHS spokesperson Jessica Nelson, in a statement Friday, said: "No vulnerable human being, including Mr. Rupke, should suffer any neglect and abuse by a provider or a guardian."
"Although this settlement cannot erase the past, we hope it will provide Mr. Rupke with additional support and services as he moves forward with his life. DSHS is committed to working with community partners on improvements so that vulnerable clients are able to experience the dignity, independence, and the choices to which they are entitled," the statement added.
Representatives of NWRC could not be reached for comment Friday evening.
